Star Chronicles
by CerberAsta
Summary: The story is at an end. The Star Warriors have faced many foes, from monsters, to abominations, to dark ones, and even a poisonous planet. Now, they face true evil in the form of the darkest being possible. Few will survive by the end of the tale.
1. Intro: Mirror Image

_**A Mirror Image...**_

_**AN: Hello, Kirby fans. This is my first Kirby fic and it will tie in with a few more fics I have. Anyways, I'll include basic and background information on the clans/species of Star Warriors that appear in this fic. Also, Fright to the Finish does not affect this. I know Kirby fights the Nightmare boss but I haven't seen it, yet. **_

_**A few other things. This fic is AU. It's close to the real thing, but, technically, it's AU. Leave. Me. Alone. The reason why is because I created Clans. Here is the info on them. You don't have to read them now, as it's not really important, but it might help a tad.**_

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Star Warrior Clan Names**_

**In my version of Kirby, the Star Warriors are in clans. There are 7 clans. Here is a listing in order they formed with an example.**

**1. Star (Kirby)**

**2. Rainbow (Donokbe)**

**3. NightMare (Black Kirby)**

**4. Moon (Meta Knight)**

**5. Sun (Blade Knight/Sword Knight)**

**6. Cloud (Strife)**

**7. Geo Storm (Rajiim)**

_**Star Warrior Titles**_

**In addition, there are special titles of Star Warriors. Their titles depend on certain circumstances. They are listed below with an example.**

**1. Fighter – SW who has mastered all fighting styles. (Fighter Joe)**

**2. Elemental – SW who has mastered all elements and a form of magic. (Arion)**

**3. Necrosi – SW who practices Dark magic. (Dakron Shai - OC)**

**4. Biokin – SW who practices Light magic. (Lithrel Suna - OC)**

**5. Aetherian – SW who is a master of all magic, fighting, and elements (The Celestial Warrior - Fusion)**

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Star Clan Base of Evolution

The Star Clan is the original Star Warrior Clan. Eventually, most of them evolved. Only a few were pure Star. Now, there is only one survivor. His name is Kirby. The Star Clan has all copy abilities except the Omega Copy Abilities of other Clans.

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Moon Clan - The Royal Clan

The Moon Clan is the royal one. They rule over the rest of the Clans. The highest imperial line of the Moon Clan, the bloodline of the monarchs themselves, is now mixed with Sun Clan blood. Meta Knight is this one. He gave up his position as the king to fight the SW/M War. Now that the Star Warrior number is dwindling, he seeks to rejoin the clans. The Moon Clan only has OCP's and the weapon/element series of Copy Abilities.

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Sun Clan - Wisest Clan

The Sun Clan is one of the rare Clans that are thriving. They are very good with blades and tend to have 4-6 strapped to their back. Like their closest related clan, the Moon Clan, they only have OCP's and weapon/element Copy Abilities.

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Cloud Clan - Blader Clan

The Blader Clan, as they are sometimes referred to as, is the ultimate warriors with a blade. Somewhere on their person, is a blade of some sort. They have 10 blades, typically. They are great with the element attacks. The Cloud Clan only has the OCP's and weapon/element copy abilities.

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Geo Storm Clan - Divided Clan

The Geo Storm clan is made up of two sects. The Geomin and the Storm sect. They originally were one clan, the Force clan, but gradually, they became too divided in their beliefs. So, they became two sects. The ones still in tune with nature became the Geomin sect. The ones who "freed" themselves from nature and went into machinery, weaponry, etc. became the Storm sect. The children determine their interests along the way and join which sect they choose.

**A) - Geomin Sect - Nature Sect**

The Geomin Clan is the one Clan that is in tune with nature. They are strong and solid like stones. The masters are well known for changing into the elements of Nature and even fly without any help! They say that they control gravity to a degree and the wind. Whether this is true or not, we have not confirmed.

**B) - Storm Sect-Soldier Sect**

The Storm Clan is an offshoot of the Rainbow Clan. After a while, they evolved into their own Clan by separation. They were still fighters, just more strategically advanced in their battles. They began advancing rapidly in technology to the point where they had vehicles and long-range weapons. They were soldiers. And, as such, their bodies developed in many different ways to adapt to many war enviroments.

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Rainbow Clan - Warrior Clan

The Rainbow Clan was the first evolution from Star. They have all copy abilities except the Omega Copy Abilities of other Clans. After they get a copy ability, it is imprinted in their mind. After they have transformed into that a few times, they can synthesize the materials needed for that Copy Ability into a capsule. The Rainbow Clan has been demolished within the last great Monster/Star Warrior war. The majority are dead, but several are mutated into monsters or in another dimension, escaping from the genocide. The only known one left is Donokbe.

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NightMare Clan - First Evil Clan

They are, obviously, the first Clan to turn evil. The leader of the current group is a powerful Star Warrior named Dark Kirby. The NightMare are less widely known as the "Dream" Warriors. A group of banished Star Warriors drank from the Fountain of Dreams. They gained the incredible ability to walk into others' dreams, create theirs, their own, and even have prophetic dreams. Afterwards, the Fountains magic was limited to its current uses. The NightMare Clan has all Copy Abilities except the OCP's of other Clans. This Clan makes up the majority of the Necrosi.

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Now that that's cleared up...**_

_**Roll 'em!**_

_**A Quinn Film**_

_**Asta Productions**_

_**With Crazy LA**_

_**Star Chronicles!**_

_**Cappy Town,**_

It was a normal day in Cappy Town. Boredom with the occasional interesting fight between Kirby and a monster King DeDeDe ordered. Today was no exception. Kirby was walking around Cappy Town wondering where the next monster and the next meal would be. So far, neither had shown up. He did not feel worried so far. He never really was, though. However, today, he probably should be.

_**NightMare Enterprises...**_

Customer Service was talking to the usual shadowy figure in the background.

"Sir, so far, Kirby has defeated all out creations. What should we send next?" he asked. The figure hissed.

"Send Project: Donokbe and Project: Dark Mirror after our little friend," the boss said with a cold voice that sent chills up the spine.

"Yes sir!" Customer Service replied, as he rushed off.

He pressed a button and two doors opened. One held a figure that looked liked a watch if you got rid of his face. His face was like Kirby's but his mouth was different. He had arms and legs that seemed scrawny in comparison to his body. He even was about the same size as Kirby. It was Project: Donokbe. The second door opened up to reveal a figure that looked exactly like Kirby with a light blue body, dark blue feet, and horns. At the end of his arms, feet, and horns was a small point of black energy. It was Project: Dark Mirror.

"Go get Project: Star," Customer Service ordered.

"Yes sir," they answered.

They quickly dashed off to the ships and shot off to PopStar. Their eyes laden with desire as they punched it and when into hyper speed. When they arrived, Dark Mirror changed his appearance at Donokbe's order. He looked exactly like Kirby, but if you looked close, you could see a light dot on the tips of his arms and legs.

"Let's get our vengeance," Donokbe ordered, running towards the center of Cappy Town. Dark Kirby was following close behind.

_**Cappy Town...**_

Tiff and Tuff looked at the giant cloud of dust approaching with mild interest. Kirby could handle it, and if he couldn't, well, Meta Knight could. However, they were not prepared to see Kirby as one of those figures. Or, who they thought was Kirby, anyways. Especially _following _the other... thing. Whatever it was. It seemed small to be a monster, but there have been several monsters that at least _started_ out small. They always were big in the end.

But not this one. As mentioned, it was barely bigger than Kirby. But he had just as much power, if not more, than the puffball. Also, he certainly had murder on his mind. Tiff was semi-worried, but she remembered Meta Knight and her worries eased. However, then Kirby walked out of Chef Kawasaki's and looked toward the approaching pair.

"Poyo?" he asked.

"Huh? But your- wait? What?" Tiff asked, confused.

"It's an imposter!" Donokbe shouted, having reached the group.

"What?" Tuff asked.

"That Kirby is an impostor! The real Kirby is right here!" Donokbe reasserted.

"Then get the monster! Warpstar!" Tiff cried out.

The Warpstar came from Kabu, shooting towards the Kirbys. The one next to Donokbe looked mildly confused. Then he realized what he had to do to keep up the charade. He leapt onto the Warpstar and came rocketing at the real Kirby. Donokbe pulled out one of his special Copy Ability Capsules. N.M.E. had discovered all the most powerful copy abilities and managed to shrink down the materials to create them as capsules. An ability Donokbe learned how to do as well.

He had selected Dragon. His normally skinny arms and legs bulged out and grew claws. Two wings ripped from his back and a tail covered with spikes emerged as well. He had every element possible chosen to mix with it. He shot a fireball at Kirby. The Star Clan Warrior sucked it up and became Fire Kirby.

He quickly began spewing fire back at Donokbe. He simply froze that and Kirby. Finally, Dark Kirby came swooping down and crashed into the ice block. It shattered to splinters. Kirby was still complete somehow.

Dark Kirby was amused by the fact that the Star Clan punk was still alive. He would take care of that. Now that Kirby was down, he might as well forget the disguise. He changed back to Tiff anf Tuff's shock.

"What? You're the impostor!" Tiff shouted.

"Right you are girlie! But you're too late to stop us now!" Dark Kirby shouted back.

He held up his hand and a strange substance came from it. It was like a bubble, only it was black with wisps of blue through it. Dark Matter, as it is called. He swallowed it and became NightMare Dark Kirby. The same name as his clan. His horns grew entirely black. Dark Matter formed as a crown on his head and his feet formed into Dark Matter, but retained their shape. He pulled out his weapon of choice. It was a trident, but it's handle was smaller than usual, which meant Dark Kirby could hold it and you'd only see the VERY bottom of the handle and its head.

Kirby was currently out of ideas. He DID know Meta Knight was busy somewhere else, probably he went to see Sgt. Cosmo. So, faced with these two, and lacking copy abilities, he was royally screwed over. Now... Dark Kirby was currently charging up a humongous blast and began firing a ray at Kirby. Donokbe was blown back as well.

Wait, this all... felt... familiar to Donokbe. His planet. He saw this. It was on the inscriptions he read after the war. A nightmarish clan had swarmed the Rainbow clan's planet. They were made slaves and monsters. Few survived long enough to leave their dimension. He saw all this. Why hadn't he gotten it sooner? Better late than never, he guessed. He looked for the capsules he stored.

"Smash, Crash, Knight... no, no, and no! Ah! Here it is! Rainbow!" Donokbe shouted, sucking up the capsule.

A rainbow formed over his head as a crown of sorts. A cape placed itself on his back and he was charged with energy. He gained a gauntlet on both hands that radiated multi-chromatic energy. He was now Rainbow Donokbe. He made a mad dash and slammed into Dark Kirby. It knocked him off the Warp Star, which shot back for Kirby.

Suddenly, the Star Warrior had an idea. He began sucking up the Warp Star. It was moderately confused and resisted at first, but it relented and rammed into Kirby's mouth. He became Star Kirby. A star formed on his back and spun for a second before a ring clasped around Kirby's head and left wrist. A gauntlet formed on his right hand and became an actual fist with fingers.

"Well, how the tables have turned," Donokbe said, slamming another fist into Dark Kirby.

"Why are we fighting each other? The Star Clan survivor is our target!" Dark Kirby shouted.

"Well, I'm the Rainbow Clan survivor because of YOU!" Donokbe roared, slamming Dark Kirby with a giant blast.

"Crap. You weren't supposed to find out til after the Star Warriors were wiped out!" Dark Kirby moaned.

"Not feeling any pity," Donokbe roared, as he and Kirby charged at the NightMare Warrior.

They slammed into him. Kirby and Donokbe then put their energies together and formed a star that was rapidly changing colors. They tossed it at Dark Kirby. It homed in on him and a huge explosion unsued its detonation. Kirby and Donokbe floated down, tired, but proud of their work. Then, they saw the shadowy form of Dark Kirby leaping out of the smoke.

"No way!" Donokbe shouted.

"Not feeling any pity," Dark Kirby shouted, mocking Donokbe.

D Kirby pulled out another capsule and swallowed it. Now, because the two are compatible to come together, they formed a combo. NightMare Sword Dark Kirby was his current form, now. Dark Kirby charged at the pair of Star Warriors. Kirby and Donokbe leapt into the air and began shooting away at the cretin of shadow. Dark Kirby tried to block them all, but, even with the sword and NightMare abilities, he couldn't. He finally was destroyed.

_**After The Battle...**_

Donokbe spit out the capsule and Kirby shot the Warp Star back to Kabu. They fell back and started breathing heavily from the exhaustion.

"You're a good fighter for a Star Clan warrior," Donokbe said, getting back to a normal breathing rate.

"Poyo? (What?)" Kirby asked, confused.

"Right. We'll have to teach you how to talk," Donokbe stated.

"Who are you?" Meta Knight asked from the top of Kawasaki's.

"Ah, the Moon Clan King. Meta Knight, right?" Donokbe asked.

"Who. Are. You?" Meta Knight asked again, coldly.

"The name's Donokbe. I'm a Star Warrior of the Rainbow Clan. I had been working with N.M.E. for some time after misinterpreting some documents. Was trying to destroy Kirby. I thought it was he who had done that," Donokbe said.

"I'm sure you'll be a great help to our cause. With both you and me teaching Kirby, he will be ready to take on Nightmare," Meta Knight said, leaping off.

"Odd man. He has his uses though. I guess," Donokbe said.

"Poyo? (What does that mean?)" Kirby asked.

"I am so glad I can translate baby-speak," Donokbe sighed, taking Kirby by the hand to teach him first lessons on talking.

**_BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!_**


	2. Clans: Life of Strife

_**The Tournament Begins...**_

_**DeDeDe Castle**_

"Where's 'dat lil cream puff! I'll cream 'im!" the King roared, running about the castle, his hammer in hand.

"Your sire, Kirby isn't here! It's that new Star Warrior!" Escargoon shouted after the maddened king.

"Whateva'! I'll get whoeva' stole my food! No one gets between me and mah dinna'!" DeDeDe shouted, running out the castle towards the home of Donokbe.

"His majesty had better start learning to think with his brain and not his stomach," Escargoon groaned, chasing after the king.

_**Imagine the Kirby Theme song here...**_

_**Donokbe's Cave**_

"Okay, Kirby, try it with me: hhheeeelllloooo," Donokbe taught.

"Ppppooolllllooo," Kirby got out.

"YES! A -llloooo! Better than poyo! Now, try hello," Donokbe instructed.

"He- he- h- hell- hello! Hello! Hello! Yay!" Kirby celebrated. Donokbe cheered.

"Now try condescending," he said. Kirby blinked.

"Joking," he said, chuckling.

Then the makeshift door he put up shattered into splinters as King DeDeDe stood there, steaming. His eyes blazed as he grabbed for his hammer.

"No one swipes mah dinna' you blazin' long-eared cream puff!" Triple D shouted as he swung the hammer at Donokbe.

"You're the idiot who left it out in the open!" Donokbe shouted back, grabbing the hammer.

They kept fighting until Donokbe finally sucked DeDeDe's hammer and became Hammer Donokbe!

(And off in the Imagi Dimension, the producer and the director were fighting. Asta: No crap sherlock. They figured that. Quinn: (half-eyes) They endured Tuff always stating the obvious, so why can't I? Asta: Because I said so. Now continue the fic! Quinn: Make me. Asta: (raps Quin with a stick) Quinn: OKAY! OKAY! ACK! I'M WRITING! I'M WRITING!)

Donokbe promptly pulled a Tiger Woods and knocked DeDeDe back to his castle.

"FIVE!" he shouted, "...hundred pounds!"

"I'd probably say seven," Escargoon said as he saw DeDeDe fly into the distance.

"Escargoon. Nice name. Although I prefer escar... GO!" Donokbe shouted as he sent Escargoon flying off as well.

"Hello! Hello! Hello!" Kirby cheered in the background.

"Good, let's keep going," Donokbe said, thinking of more words Kirby needed to learn.

_**DeDeDe Castle**_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!" the King screamed as he crashed through his roof.

He laid there for a few seconds with swirly eyes until Escargoon came screaming in, as well. The King oofed, came back to his senses, knocked Escargoon off of him.

"I gotta' find a way to get back at that little rabbit cream puff!" DeDeDe shouted.

"Sire, why don't you have a tournament? You could offer a reward of a bunch of food. Since our balance is still not paid off, you could always hire a mercenary," Escargoon said, shaking his head.

"I love the way your slimy little mind works! We just need to find a mercenary!" DeDeDe shouted, bellowing with laughter.

"Oh, sire, I already know of one. He goes by the name of Strife," Escargoon replied, rubbing where he had been hit.

"Even da' name sounds promisin'! Get him on the line... NOW!" the King ordered.

"Yes, your highness!" Escargoon shouted, activating the screen.

brrrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggg click shuffle shuffle

"What do you want?" a raspy voice said on the other line. His face appeared quickly afterwards.  
"A Star Warrior!" DeDeDe exclaimed.

"Yeah, you gotta' problem with it? Now how much?" he said, leaning back against the wall.

"How much what? Money? Two grand!" DeDeDe offered.

"Bull. I don't get outta' bed for less than 10 grand," Strife said.

"Deal! Now, get down here!" DeDeDe ordered.

"Who's the target and where's he or she at?" Strife asked, fixating his swords and boot blades.

"The puffball's name is Kirby. And he lives at the same place I do! Cappy Town, Dreamland, Popstar!" The King declared.

"Kirby, huh? I'll get him for ya'. Is this supposed to look like an accident or what?" Strife asked, clicking on his "job mask".

"It'll be staged as a tournament. You look like you go a bit too rough and accidently kill him," Triple D said.

"Fine by me. What's the species of the weirdo?" Strife asked.

"Same as you ah! Star Warrior!" The King replied.

"I'll figure out the clan when I get there," Strife muttered, placing on his helmet that protected his weakest spot on his head.

"Just hurry up and get he-uh!" the King ordered, shutting off the screen, and heading off to the kitchen where the Waddle Dees were cooking his next meal.

_**Donokbe's Cave...**_

"Okay Kirby, we've gotten 'hello' out of you, now let's go on to 'bye'," Donokbe said, "bu- bu- byyyyyyye. Now, you try."

"Bu- bu- bye. Bye bye bye!" Kirby sang joyfully.

"Don't. Seriously. The author could get sued for that," Donokbe reprimanded.

((Asta: THANK YOU! Quinn: I thought it was rather funny. Asta: As a stroke, it was!))

"Hey, I may not know much English, but I can form a sentece by now," Kirby said, blowing Donokbe's mind.

"I've only taught you hello, bye, and sorry. When did you know this much shtuff!" Donokbe bust out.

"Uhhhh... I mean... poyo!" Kirby said, trying to cover up.

"You went behind my back and stole my phonograph and records didn't you?" Donokbe asked.

"Uhhh... yeah. Yeah, I did," Kirby said, bluntly.

"This is odd, you now actually talking out of seemingly nowhere. The reviewers are gonna' have the author's ass for this," Donokbe said.

((Asta: HEY! You can't CUSS! Quinn: It's alright. I set the rating at T for such an occasion as this. Asta: He's right, though. We're going to be flamed to an unfunny extent. Quinn: So? It beats writing 'poyo' then writing the translation to the side in conversations, ya' know.)

"Well, Donokbe. You should be warned. The King is hiring a mercenary for you and Kirby," Meta Knight, standing in the open doorway.

"It's called knocking. Try it sometime," Donokbe said.

"You'll need to be prepared for this one. He looks to be very well-trained, not to mention quite determined," Meta Knight continued, ignoring Donokbe's comment.

"It's really annoying when you ignore people, ya' know?" Donokbe said, still trying to be Meta Knight's attention.

"He is a Star Warrior. From his numerous blades, I can tell he's from the Cloud Clan," Meta Knight finished.

"You really like to hear yourself talk, don't cha? But, yes, I admit, the Cloud Clan is a dangerous bunch. They are known to be the best at Sword play, so that's out," Donokbe replied.

"You must figure out a different method of attack," Meta Knight said.

"I just said that," Donokbe deadpanned.

"It's funny watching these two fight," Kirby said, looking at the screen.

"You're not supposed to act like you know this is a TV show!" Donokbe shouted.

Meta Knight sighed and walked off while Donokbe and Kirby fought. It was so childish to him. He may have only been around 1,000 years old (young for Star Warriors in this AU), but his maturity level, knowledge, and wisdom were all like that of 5,000 year old Star Warrior. (The life expectantcy in this AU is 9,000.) War does that to people. He sighed again as he looked at the moon. He walked by the ocean and casually walked through, burdened by horrid memories. Many of his dearest friends and even family members were lost in that War.

He remembered so many deaths. Every night he was haunted by them. Their faces loomed in the darkest corners of his mind. Every time he felt he failed someone, they came haunting him, blaming him for their deaths. And all he could do was pray that he was forgiven of the sins of the War. He pulled the sword out a few inches and peered into the jewel, bringing back the peace of a clear conscience. For now, anyways. With a swirl of his cloak, he was gone.

Donokbe, having pushed Kirby, causing him to roll into the side of the cave, slowing him down, managed to walk out after Meta Knight. He observed his little walk and could tell something was troubling him. He felt it too. He was in that War, too. He didn't suffer from seeing many die, there. Nontheless, he was still haunted by the graveyard he found when he returned to his home planet: Rain Star. He found nothing but crosses with names etched in and bones of the last few hundred, being too weak and too few to dig graves. He looked everywhere, he finally found his parent's names on two crosses, side by side. After that, he went traveling the universe, until he found the Clan Prophecy...

Kirby managed to orient himself and ran out of the cave. He saw Donokbe walking back, his mind preoccupied.

"What's poyo? (wrong)" Kirby asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Donokbe said.

"Poyo! (Something's troubling you!) POYO! (SPIT IT OUT!)" Kirby shouted.

"I don't need this right now! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Donokbe shouted back, slamming his fixed door.

"Ugh... poyo... (everyone treats me like a baby around here...)" Kirby grumbled to himself as he shuffled home.

_**Kirby's Home...**_

"Hey, you stupid puffball! Hurry up! I've been waitin' for you to get over here! Lazy, good-for-nothin...," Totokori jabbered away.

"Why do you want me here? Just... just shut up," Kirby said.

"Since when could you talk!" Totokori squawked.

"Since I could, now please be quiet," Kirby pleaded, rolling over in his bed, his back to the jabbering bird.

_**King DeDeDe's castle (Next Afternoon)...**_

"When's that blasted mercenary s'posed to get he-uh!" DeDeDe demanded.

"Right now," Strife said, walking in.

"ACK! Don't do that! You're just like Meta Knight! None ya'll Star Warriors can dang blasted just knock!" DeDeDe shouted.

"Meta Knight? The Moon Clan Warrior? The King of the Royal Clan? Here?" Strife asked.

"Yeah. He works for his majesty," Escargoon said.

"Odd the old War hero would work for an overweight penguin," Strife muttered to himself.

"You have your orders, now go find Kirby, the tournament will be startin' soon!" the King said.

_**Cappy Town...**_

"There's a tournament going on?" Chief Bookum asked no one in particular.

"Yeah, there's a reward of a bunch of food. That sounds great! I need to restock the kitchen," Chef Kawasaki said, excitedly.

"Oh, please, as if you'd win. Kirby's going to be way too determined. Not to mention that new Donokbe character," Cheif Bookum replied.

"You wouldn't fare any betta!" Kawasaki shot back.

"Wanna' bet!" Bookum challenged.

"If I win, you have to eat at my restaurant at lunch for a month, full charge! If you win, I'll give you free meals for a month, you only, though," Chef Kawasaki challenged.

"You're on!" Chief Bookum accepted, shaking hands on it, then signing their names on the sheet.

"Adults are so competitive," Tiff said, shaking her head sadly.

"No kiddin' Tiff. Why do they have to get edgy about every little thing?" Tuff asked.

"Who knows? I just hope I'm never like that when I grow up," Tiff said.

"Yeah, besides, we both know I'd win if I wanted to enter," Tuff boasted.

"Tuff, with Meta Knight, Donokbe, and Kirby all competing, you don't stand a chance," Tiff sighed.

"What? You think you do?" Tuff retorted.

"I didn't say that. I'm not much of a fighter," Tiff said.

"That's cause you're chicken!" Tuff challenged.

"Fine! To prove to you I can do better, I'll enter," Tiff said, signing her name, Tuff following suit.

This all seems to be a repeat of an episode of an episode, you may say. If you do, I apologize. I haven't seen more than 20 episodes, so forgive me and inform me if any of these sound exactly like an episode from the show.

"Well, well, well," Strife said, looking at the signatures. So far, only 4 Cappys had entered. Not Kirby, nor Donokbe or Meta Knight had signed up for it.

"I can't enter them myself, but they'll enter, I'm sure," he said, signing in his name.

_**(From this point, is where the events of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror occured. Donokbe and Strife were busy elsewhere. Also, Black Kirby (as I dubbed him, since I can't remember his name and I have a combo Copy Ability called 'Shadow', although I'm sure Ivyna will correct me if she reads this) comes back to Dreamland.**_

_**Day of the Tournament...**_

"Well, it's a good day, today. Nice and cloudy, but not gray storm clouds. A great day for a tournament," Professor Curio announced.

"And we're just getting started! We have _several_ contestants who chose to enter!" Donokbe said.

"Didn't you enter? What are you doing in the announcer's box?" Curio asked.

"Right! I'll see you during the tournament!" Donokbe said, rushing out.

"Well, the tournament will be starting off with and odd match up. Tiff versus Chef Kawasaki!" Curio announced.

_**Round 1! Tiff versus Chef Kawasaki...**_

"Oh, this is silly, I don't know why my brother forced me into this," Tiff sighed.

"Now, I'm really sorry about this," Kawasaki said.

"Oh, don't be. I'm okay with losing. I have a book to finish, anyways," Tiff said, walking to the edge of the stage.

"HA! Quitter!" Tuff shouted from the stands.

"Be quiet, I can decide for myself. He needs to win this, anyways," Tiff said, climbing off the stage.

"Well, that was a waste of time. I just hope the next fight is interesting," Curio said.

"Of course it's gonna' be interesting! It's Strife versus Meta Knight!" Donokbe shouted from behind from Curio.

"Get out of here!" Curio shouted, sending Donokbe outside with a sheperd's crook he had uncovered and strengthened that serves no purpose to the story whatsoever.

_**Round 2! Strife versus Meta Knight...**_

"Well, your highness, I'm sorry, but I'm getting paid to knock off Kirby," Strife said, activating his blade armor, causing a sun effect behind him.

"No one shall harm Kirby. Not Nightmare. Not you. Not anyone," Meta Knight declared.

"Yeah, whatever," Strife said, ignoring the comment and charging.

His boots had four compartments each, and two opened up. They shot out a dagger which he grabbed quickly. He twirled them around for a few seconds, while charging, before thrusting them out. Meta Knight pulled out Galaxia (his sword for those who haven't seen the episode) and deflected the blow with ease. They continued swinging the blades, speeding up and putting more power behind each blow.

Finally, because Galaxia is much stronger, material-wise, Strife's daggers broke. He smirked and pulled out two of the swords he had strapped on his back. He briefly twirled them before lunging at amazing velocity and ferocity, twirling madly like a tornado. Meta Knight ran forward, jumped in the air, and came down, his sword first. Strife looked up, smiled, and threw one of the swords up at Meta Knight. The knight, seeing this action, came out of sword plant formation to swing his sword and block the tossed blade. He came down with a mere _pit pat_ and his cape fell behind him.

"You are the one," he said.

"Excuse me?" Strife asked.

"I saw you. You killed Shadow Knight," Meta Knight accused.

"Shadow Knight? Yes. I remember him. But... kill him? No, he was like a brother to me," Strife said, shaking his head.

"No! I saw that very same move. The same formation, same precision, even same blade style. You killed Shadow Knight," Meta Knight retorted, charging.

"I swear to you! I did NOT kill him! The Star Warrior who killed him was my mentor!" Strife replied.

"You killed him. And now you plan to kill Kirby. This shall not BE!" Meta Knight declared, swinging his sword down on Strife.

Strife's mask plate, while also intimidating, had a jagged edge, which could be used like a blade. He swung his remaining sword to block the blow. Because both of their right hands had to heal from the shock, Strife used his left hand to remove his mask and slice along Meta Knight's hands and mask. The old knight recoiled in pain, covering his eyes, trying to get the blood out. Strife fixed his mask on, quickly, and slammed Meta Knight out of the ring with the broad side of his sword.

"I'm sorry, your majesty," Strife said, quietly.

The stands were filled with excitement and fear. Everyone was whispering in wonder. 'He beat Meta Knight!' and such things like 'Kirby ain't gotta' chance. Betcha' that Donokbe weirdo doesn't last five seconds!'

_**Round 3! Shadow Kirby verus Tuff...**_

"Uuuuhh... I'm really sorry I have to beat you in front of all these people, Big B... heh heh," Tuff said, nervously.

"Why are you sorry? I'm sorry, but a Cappy doesn't stand much of a chance against a Star Warrior," Black Kirby said, blowing off Tuff's comment.

"There's no way I'm gonna' lose!" Tuff shouted, charging and throwing a haymaker.

"Maybe, but I know I'll win," Black Kirby said, stepping to the side, and then tripping Tuff.

Tuff grunted, then Black Kirby dragged him to the edge of the ring where he promptly dropped him.

_**Round 4! Kirby versus Strife (Intro)...**_

The contestants stared each other down. Strife smiled behind his mask. His paycheck had finally come in. Now, he just had to kill the little punk, and he'd get his 10,000 dollars. He'd go back home, pay off a few more bills, and wait for the next job. He loved being a merc. It was so simple.

Before Strife could take notice, Kirby pulled out a capsule and popped it in his mouth. Donokbe had made him and Black Kirby a few special capsules. Donokbe had delved into the archives, and discovered something called Omega Copy Abilities. He developed one for Kirby, Black Kirby, and himself. Kirby became Star Shield Kirby and prepared for battle...


	3. Clans: The Primary Rejoined

_**The Primary Rejoined...**_

_**Hey guyzos! I'm back on a brand new mission! Well, a few things first. Casiana1, you weren't annoying me. It was the one who was sucking up to Ivyna who was a pest. I heard it already, I don't need re-assertion. Jeebs, that's annoying. I had said it was an AU and still somebody tells me that 'clans' aren't necessarily right. If you didn't get to read 'Dear Readers', that's cuz "good ole" ff admin took it down when so many OTHER authors have a story or chapter that's solely an author's note. Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!**_

_**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this. I do not own Kirby and all related characters, including 'Black Kirby'. Donokbe is property of dragonking112's and used with permission. The clan idea is mine, but is permitted to be used. Go for it. Blah, blah, blah.**_

_**

* * *

**__**Recap...**_

_King DeDeDe decided to have a tournament. Strife and Meta Knight fought, the former winning. Now, he and Kirby are prepared to fight._

_**Strife Versus Kirby... FIGHT!**_

With the sound of the bell, Strife rushed at Kirby. Kirby, having taken the capsule which transformed him Star Shield Kirby, blocked the blow with the obvious. The Star on the front of the shield began glowing with every hit Strife launched.

The merc caught on, so he took out a few throwing knives and leapt into the air. Kirby looked around in confusion. He looked up to see where his opponent had gone. And he found him. Baring down on the puffball, and already beginning to throw blades. Kirby's shield, while powerful, was also very heavy. Kirby hadn't quite managed to lift it over his head.

He jumped to the right, the shield shrinking down to bracelet-size, the ONLY way he could move it. And that wouldn't have been enough to block all the blades. Even leaping didn't give him enough. A few daggers scraped him, while one actually punctured his skin. It wasn't deep, but it still hurt. Kirby looked at his landing adversary with anger.

Strife just smiled. He pulled out a broadsword almost as big as he was (he's not much taller than Meta Knight), and darted forward. Kirby's shield quickly grew back to its normal size in time to block the blow. The Star on the shield began glowing with more intense energy. Finally, it exploded with energy and a blast shot from it, dead into Strife.

The Cloud clanner cursed mentally. He should've been aware of this. He had faced others like Kirby before. FAR too often. He still managed to recover quickly, and formulated a strategy. Strife pulled out his broadsword and charged. Kirby pulled out his shield again, prepared to take the shock of the blow.

However, the Cloud clanner wasn't stupid. At the last second, he jumped, pulled out a few more daggers, and tossed 'em all down dead at Kirby. The Star clanner didn't realize it until too late. One of the knives embedded itself deeply in Kirby's hand. Another, in his foot. Strife was trying to make sure that he got in a few blows, and didn't have time to aim. He set the blades on his back to spin as he came down, like a helicopter. He turned around, so his back was towards Kirby.

The young Star Warrior dodged out of the way, rolling as fast as he could. When he got back up, Strife was already pulling out another sword from his back. Kirby was getting worn out by this point, what with all the rolling and shocks he's been taking.

Strife had known this, of course, and so, he charged again. Black Kirby, out on the stands, with Donokbe, knew something was wrong. Strife should've been trying to knock him out of the ring, or knock him out cold, but the knives signified he wasn't interested in a simple victory. So they rushed over to the edges of the ring, about to help Kirby, when the cage shot up. On each corner was a King DeDeDe bust.

"He thinks of everything. Crud!" Donokbe shouted, stamping the ground.

"Why don't we burst through there?" Black asked.

"We can't Black. If we do, we'd have to use a serious blast to blow up this cage. And that would probably knock out Kirby, giving Strife the opportunity to kill him," Donokbe explained.

"Meta Knight's out. Blade Knight and Sword Knight are with him. We can't blow up the gate. Kirby's royally screwed, isn't he?" Black stated, gravely.

"Unless the cage comes down, I'm sure he is," Donokbe replied.

Strife smiled. He didn't usually care for Cage Matches, but, hey, whatever works, right? He began slashing away at the pink puffball with increased determination.

A though occured to Donokbe. He had been developing _several_ new copy abilities. Including...

Donokbe ran home as fast as possible.

"Hey! What'll we do about Kirby?" Black Kirby shouted.

"I'll get to him! Just try anything you can to get in!" Donokbe shouted.

"Great. I have to watch Kirby get the crap beaten out of him. Oh. Happy day," Black Kirby growled, sitting down.

Well, Kirby didn't really have much concern for B's "discomfort", even if he knew about it. He was currently getting thrashed by the blader. His face was almost completely bloody, his feet were sticking a bit because the blood. The only thing that wasn't bloody was the shield and his eyes. Lucky thing, too.

Strife lifted up his giant (to them) broadsword and swung it down with everything he had. Kirby lifted up his shield, fully extended, and it took about 80 percent of the blow. The other 20 percent was enough to knock Kirby into the sides of the cage. He just sat up, due to lack of energy, and couldn't stand. The Force pitied him and gave him a break. Strife tossed another knife at him, and when it hit the shield, a huge blast shot from it, incinerating the knife and crashing into Strife.

The shield gains energy from every blow dealt to it, able to shoot a blast at the owner's will. Kirby, being so beaten, couldn't command it at this point. However, the shield had gathered too much energy for it to hold. So, naturally, it threw out a shot to remove _all_ energy it had stored up dead into whatever was in its path. And Strife happened to be the really unlucky person.

He slammed into the cage, almost out cold, but he managed to get back up, then fall back down, then sit up, trying to recover.

_**Nightmare Enterprises...**_

"Well, boss. Looks like the merc could use some help. Don't you agree?" Customer Service asked.

"You are correct in your assumption. Kirby and Meta Knight thought they had beaten me. I'm back, with a VENGEANCE!" Nightmare shouted.

"What should we send?" Customer Service asked.

"Fire him some Dark Matter," Nightmare said, disappearing.

"Sure thing, boss," Customer Service replied, pushing a button.

A bubble, similar to what Kirby had faced at first when fighting Nightmare in 'Nightmare in Dream Land', appeared. It spun around for a few seconds while Customer Service gave it its instructions. It then zoomed off at high-speeds toward Popstar.

_**Tournament Arena...**_

Strife and Kirby were sitting down, breathing heavily while glaring daggers at each other. That's when the bit of Dark Matter shot into the sword master.

"The... power...," he breathed out, changing.

His mask, before, was white. Now, it was black. His green eyes became red with slits in them. His armor became more jagged and twisted. His shoulder pads turned a dark purple and his boots turned black with red slots. Dark blue stars glowed on various places, occasionally changing position. The sun pattern of blades strapped to his back changed as well. They all curved, making a spikish, fire-type style look instead. The broadsword he held in his hand became more jagged, resembling a sawblade.

"Now, Kirby, you die!" he shouted, his voice demonic and twisted, sounding like several voices, instead of just one.

"Aww... COME ON!" Kirby pleaded.

"We were once called Strife. Now, we are Wrath!" the newly-dubbed Wrath roared.

"Naturally," Kirby muttered, holding up the shield.

"Now that we exist, we must carry out our mission!" Wrath shouted, charging towards Kirby with his sawblade thrust out like a lance.

"Oh spit," Kirby cursed, his eyes widened in fright.

"Meet my blade, the Vexxor!" Wrath shouted, slicing down the might sawblade on Kirby's shield.

The force from the Vexxor shook Kirby's very soul. The shield's star began glowing again, to the radiance it was before. It shot out another massive blast, which almost hit Wrath. However, he pulled out all his swords, spinning them to deflect the blast. It blasted one of the generators, causing a small explosion.

Kirby was badly beaten. He was bleeding, bruised, with broken bones. He felt like he was 'bout to die. Now, his final possible savior, the shield's Star Nova, as he dubbed it, didn't work. To say the least, he was fucked. Royally.

Donokbe ran into the circle around the main stage, panting. He then pulled out a capsule and popped it in his mouth. It took a year to fully discover all the copy abilities to make this combo, but it was definitely worth it. Ghost Donokbe was out and about. The main difference was that he was white where he was light brown (torso and most of his ears, along with his arms), grey where he was originally brown (ear tips), and his feet were gone in favor of a smoky ecto-tail.

"You'll never escape from me, straw hat!" he shouted, mimicking Chaser.

"Oh, shut up and get us in there, goofball," Black Kirby said, slapping Donokbe on the back of the head.

Donokbe grabbed Black Kirby's hand and went intangible. They leapt through the field and became tangible. Donokbe spat out the capsule and became normal.

He then pulled out two more capsules and threw one to Black Kirby. The Nightmare clanner swallowed it, becoming Nightmare Sword Black Kirby. Energy, known as Night Matter formed a cape on his back, gloves on his arms and boots on his feet. Naturally, he had a sword as well. It had a bit of the Night Matter as the hilt.

Donokbe became Rainbow Knight Donokbe. He had armor, a small sword and a mini-shield. The armor was white, while the sword was silver, and the shield was switching between the colors of the rainbow.

"La Viva La Vi Bohem, ars sucker!" Donokbe shouted, randomly, slicing down at Wrath.

Wrath merely slid to the side, smirking gloatingly. He then thrust out Vexxor, which narrowly missed RK Donokbe. NS Black Kirby shot a blast which knocked Wrath into the cage. He stood up, smoking. The Dark Matter warrior shook his head, then looked up. His eyes widened.

"NO!" he shouted.

RK Donokbe and NS Black Kirby ran over to SS Kirby and each grabbed a seperate hand, trying to pull him up. Oddly enough, something _else_, infinitely better, happened. They all glowed and disappeared. In their place stood a might warrior. He was about 3 feet, tall for a Star Warrior.

He had the same slab-like platelets (allowing maximum movement) that Donokbe had, although it was Multi-Chromatic, minus the Rainbow symbol on his chest. His left arm had an orb-shaped piece of machinery that wasn't very large. In his right arm, he held a small white cylinder, about an inch in diameter. His helmet resembled an overturned music note, although the part curving off was larger.

This... was the Tri-Knight. A fusion of Star Shield Kirby, Nightmare Sword Black Kirby, and Rainbow Knight Donokbe. And with the damage done to a third of his being, he wasn't happy.

**_BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!_**


	4. Clans: The Tri Knight Cometh

_**The Tri-Knight Cometh...**_

_**

* * *

Wrath Versus Tri-Knight! Fight!...**_

The Tri-Knight didn't try to start any pre-battle banter. He didn't need to, nor did he remotely want to. He just wanted to rip Wrath limb from limb. If possible, he might save Strife. Active word being might. So, he charged at the Dark Matter Monster.

Wrath chuckled. He knew he'd win. He was absolutely sure of it. But deep down inside his mangled heart, he was truly afraid. Afraid that the prophecy of the clans was true. That possibly, the Tri-Knight would obliterate him. He had to make sure that didn't happen. _Ever_.

The Tri-Knight lunged at Wrath, slicing down with the NightMare Sword. With a 'yikes!', Wrath dodged it narrowly. Very narrowly. He swung the Vexxor, cutting into the Tri-Knight's back, causing him to cry out. His back bled like crazy, but he didn't care. He jumped up, stopped for a second on the pole, then leapt off again. He was in the sun, so Wrath couldn't see where he was.

Then, he found out. With a sword jammed into his left shoulder. He grunted, then slammed the Tri-Knight into the floor. Wrath then slammed the Vexxor down on the Tri-Knight's head, ending his existence. Or, he would have. If the Tri-Knight hadn't rolled out of the way, jumped up, then stabbed him in the side.

"You just won't die, will you?" the Tri-Knight asked, the voices of Kirby, Black Kirby, and Donokbe all at once.

"Tis but a scratch!" Wrath quipped, yanking the knife out, wincing, and throwing it into the Tri-Knight's foot.

Now, you may say, "WTF!.? His FOOT!.?" Nonetheless, there was a strategy to it. Since his foot was about a few inches above the ground, at it's highest, and the dagger was a good foot, it chained him to the floor, pretty much.

So, the Tri-Knight was stuck. He reached forward, but pain coursed through his body. Poison! The knife had been poisoned! But how?

"I guess you'll be noticing a ripping pain every time you move. One of my abilities. Naturally, you didn't think that I would just regain vitality and new strength did you? Of course not. The Nightmare Matter gave us new life with new powers," Wrath said, chuckling evilly.

"You can... poison objects... with just... a touch?" the Tri-Knight asked, exasperated from the poison.

"Yeah. And now, I'll finish you off, and the prophecy with it!" Wrath shouted, slicing down on the Tri-Knight with everything he had.

The Tri-Knight pulled up the Nightmare Sword with what energy he had and deflected the blow. He then pointed the sword and shield at Wrath. The symbols on each glowed, along with the rainbow symbol on his torso.

"Enter oblivion!" he shouted, the sword, shield, and torso each issuing three large beams.

"NO! This... can't... be happening!" Wrath shouted, the light enveloping him.

After a few moments, the blinding light died down. Everyone had to blink a couple times to regain sight, and what a sight it was. Strife was breathing heavily on the ground. The Nightmare Matter was completely gone. Not a trace of it left.

"Dammit. I... lost. And to... top it... all off... I was... possessed," Strife choked out, passing out.

"Finally. That's over. It's all over," the Tri-Knight said, glowing briefly then turning back into Donokbe, Kirby, and Black Kirby.

They had enough strength to drag Strife to the medical center. He woke up, strapped down.

"So, who won the tournament?" he asked, out of curiosity.

"Kawasaki. He bonked Chief Bookum on the noggin and the inspector fell over, out cold. Kawasaki's laughing as we speak," Black Kirby replied.

"Well. Damn. I don't get my paycheck," Strife said.

"I have a good idea. Stay here," Donokbe suggested.

"Hell. No. I wouldn't stay here if I was paid for it," Strife said.

"Well, you ain't gettin' paid. But you stayin' here anyway. When we finished off the Nightmare Matter, the blast had shot out over PopStar. Your ship was completely destroyed along with that hill," Donokbe shot back.

Strife entered a period of cursing non-stop while beating his bed.

"I have never seen anyone that angry before," Kirby said, walking outside, wide-eyed.

"I have to agree with ya' there. Now, we just need to find the last clan. Then, we'll defeat Nightmare, and this'll all be over," Donokbe said, walking casually beside Kirby.

_**Dream Star...**_

A lone Star Warrior walked through the empty streets, his boots echoing loudly for miles before finally hollowing out. The sky was dark, but not pitch black. There was just enough light to see. The Star Warrior finally found a small hut which he walked inside. What he found was what he figured he'd find. And a bit more than he expected.

There were two skeletons on the floor, collapsed over each other. There were bloodstains around the general radius and a small chunks of the floor missing, indicating sword stabs. He looked and found a small blue book on the floor, the pages yellow. A diary. The Star Warrior picked it up and turned to the last two pages.

_Olio 24, 579_

_There have been rumors all about of the Ethereal Comet passing by. It is their signal. The dark ones. We haven't yet heard their names. But their deeds are galaxy renowned. They were supposed to have disappeared a long time ago, with the banning of the Dark Magic. But they apparently exist. There have been enough reports to make it factual._

_Bain 5, 579_

_After asking ole Ruthai, the fruit salesman, we found out the name of the ones inhabiting the Ethereal Comet. They are called... Necrosi. The Ethereal Comet has now been spotted by an estimate of over two thirds of the planet. It has become a fact that the Necrosi are here. Why they are targeting us, we have no idea. We are but common Star Warriors. Maybe we will never know._

_Bain 13, 579_

_It appears that there is a reason for their attacking here. Our king, Niomane, is the one in possession of the Black Scrolls. They are the holders of all Dark Magic. With them, the Necrosi would be nearly invincible. Maybe completely. I fear for Orren, I, and our planet._

_Bain 30, 579_

_I have gleaned a bit more information on the Necrosi. They are rumored to be a clan corrupted by Nightmare. They attack worlds for resources and other needs. Then, they take any Star Warrior with the Black Spirit and turn them into one of them. The Star Warrior is completely changed. They aren't even a Star Warrior anymore. They are evil in the worst possible way. Their body changes, their mind changes, their heart changes, even their spirit. It truly frightens me. When I inquired Ruthai about the Black Spirit, he just shuddered and said he didn't know anything about it except what he had told me. He was rather hurried about it, too. I don't know what can come of this._

_Andria 3, 580_

_The New Year had no glee, but fear. The Necrosi have just been circling. Ever circling. Like a mighty shark, the Ethereal Comet circles us. Tormenting us. A few have gone insane. Orren and I will hold strong. If not for us, for our son. I fear for Rajiim. He has been gone for a year and a half without communication. The war has been rumored to be going badly for the Star Warriors. Orren has been taking it badly. I only hope that between Rajiim and the Necrosi, she does not succumb to the darkness of insanity._

_Andria 7, 580_

_The Ethereal Comet has stopped circling us. It completely vanished. But so have many Star Warriors. Some disappear without a trace. Others turn up days later, horribly mangled. It is very tough times, nowadays. Friends of ours have vanished. A few have begun acting strangely. Ruthai admitted that he had more info on the Black Spirit. Apparently, it reacts to the Necrosi's presence. As if its calling to its origins. We now have been staying away from everyone else. Doors remain locked at all times. These are very bad times, indeed._

_Andria 17, 580_

_Ruthai is dead. His body showed up outside our house, tied up to the tree, slashed up and bloody. Orren was, sadly, the first to see it. She went into a fit of hysterics. Soon after the discovery, a bio team showed up, chopped down the tree, and took poor Ruthai to the morgue. I don't know what to do. His face haunts my dreams. He looked horrified. And at the same time, angry. I will not be able to sleep well._

_Andria 26, 580_

_The soldiers are beating on our door as I write this. They will soon break through and kill us as well. I will say, in my last moments, that neither I nor Orren will give up. We will go out fighting. I have borne enough from these demons. They have taken everything from me and my wife. We hope to take out many of them. We will give it our best shot. Hopefully, someone will find this diary before their world is, too, destroyed. I, Oaken, will die tonight. But I will die a warrior._

The Star Warrior closed the diary. Twin tears raced down his face. He pocketed the diary, took one last look at the skeletons, and spoke.

"I failed you before father. But I will not fail you again. I _will_ kill those bastards for what they have done. I'm proud of you and mom. So... proud," Rajiim said, turning around, heading out the door, and leaving the planet in his ship, a look of determination on his face. His destination was the last uncorrupted planet: PopStar.

**_BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!_**


	5. Clans: Zold Myrannus

_**Zold Myrannus...**_

_**Author's Note: Well, since **somebody** couldn't understand any of this, let me recap for poor NS. **_

_**Donokbe was the last of the Rainbow clan. When he came home, he saw writings of a SW who resembled Kirby. He was recruited by Nightmare and sent to destroy Kirby. He almost did, until he found out that Dark Kirby was the one who enslaved and destroyed his race.**_

_**Black Kirby was the result of the events of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. He came back in my story to help out with Kirby. He became a Nightmare Clanner due to certain events I'll relate to later.**_

_**Strife is a Cloud Clanner merc who was hired by DeDeDe to kill Kirby.**_

_**Wrath is a Nightmare Matter piece who posessed Strife.**_

_**Everyone followin'?**_

_**Also, I'd like to officially dedicate this story to Casiana1 (may she soon get an account) and Ivyna J. Spyder. They are the only two who haven't flamed this story. Not to mention Ivyna gave me great help with my story. Casiana1 helped by reminding me to do a few things and encouraged me to continue ASAP.**_

_**Finally, Zold Myrannus is an OC created by DarkeningShadow. Ask him before you use him. ZM is currently in the OC Library, one of my Forums.**_

_**Now, on with the story.**_

_**

* * *

DeDeDe's castle...**_

The overweight penguin, as Strife dubbed him, was sitting in his throne, tapping the arm lightly. Escargoon slithered in.

"What's the matter, sire?" Escargoon asked.

"It's those dad-blammed Star Wayyahs! They've beaten every monster I toss at 'em. I don't know what to do anymore!" he raged, slamming his hand on the arm, activating the console unintentionally.

"Hey, hey, hey Triple D! What's buggin' ya'?" Customer Service said, his normal cheery manner present.

"Huh? Oh, right. You got a monstuh? I'd like tah look through ya catalogue," DeDeDe said.

"Sure thing, Triple D!" Customer Service said, pressing a button.

A massive list popped up on the screen. The king scrolled through, giving the occasional grunt of unsatisfaction. Popon, Tornadon, meh. They all got killed by Kirby alone. He needed something really powerful.

"Argh! Do you have something _incredibly_ powerful? These just ain't cuttin' it!" DeDeDe roared.

"You apparently need something more powerful than Masher, even, eh, Triple D?" Customer Service asked.

"Yeah! Whatcha' got for mah problem?" the king asked.

"I have the perfect thing. He is a recent addition to our ranks. But I'm sure he could put Masher to shame from what he's done. We had to pull him from a whole 'nother dimension, in fact. He's incredibly powerful, never tires... well, you'll see all of his abilities when I send him to you. Please welcome... Zold Myrannus!" Customer Service said with gusto, sending Zold to Triple D.

The electricity surged as the new monster was transported. It was 6' 5'', smooth-plated, and silver with glowing eyes.

"A robot?" DeDeDe asked.

"Your point? I am much more powerful than some overly-large monster," Zold said, with a robotic rasp.

"Well, go find the Star Warriors and kill 'em all!" DeDeDe ordered.

Zold nodded lightly and rushed off.

_**Rajiim's Ship...**_

The Star Warrior stared ahead into the emptiness of space. All he could do was think of everything that had happened.

First, he left for the great Monster War. Oh, hell. If any Star Warrior came back unchanged, they had to have been in some unknown war previously. He was no exception. Now, all the little things in life were huge to him. He cared for things he didn't before. Things that mattered... just didn't anymore. He was completely different. Virtually everyone was.

He had nearly been killed several times. Dillo Ram constantly pursued him. Apparently, the shell shocker had a vendetta against him. Why? Hell if he knew. He just fought and fought and fought. If he was given an objective, he'd focus on that. Afterwards, there was only one objective: kill all monsters. That's all there was to it. You slept when you had to. You ate when you had to. Otherwise, you were hunting.

Then, he travels through space after the Star Warriors are virtually wiped out. He goes through hell trying to avoid Nightmare, monsters, whatever the hell would come after him. He gets to Dream Star... and he finds ruin. Parents are dead. A journal is all that's left that records horror.

Needless to say, Rajiim wasn't too happy.

_**Donokbe's Yard...**_

"Kirby! You'll have to do better than that if you wanna beat me!" Donokbe cried, slicing down, narrowly missing Kirby.

Kirby sucked a knife in from Donokbe's kitchen and became Cutter Kirby. He tossed the slicing boomerang, but Donokbe just batted it out of the way, forcing it to return to Kirby. He spat the knife out and chucked it at Donokbe. He caught then dropped it in disgust.

"Gross, kid!" he shouted.

He then ran at Kirby, his sword in front of him. Kirby tried to suck it up, but no use. Like Meta Knight, Donokbe had managed to be able to defend himself against such attacks. Hey, when you're in a war with rumors going about that Nightmare's creating an opponent that can suck up an enemy and use its abilities, you learn how to be unaffected by such things. That goes doubly for grip.

So, Kirby was knocked up into the air then swatted down.

"You can't do a damn thing, can you?" Donokbe mocked.

Kirby fumed. The puffball then looked to Meta Knight. Meta Knight shook his head. 'You need to learn how to fight without help, Kirby,' the look said. So, Kirby slid down and knocked Donokbe's feet out from under him. He then kicked him up in the air. Donokbe launched his sword down at Kirby. A tactical error, wouldn't you agree?

Kirby sucked it up and became Sword Kirby. He focused as Donokbe came down. Right before Donokbe could attack, Kirby came to a full sense of alert and launched the Sword Beam, sending Donokbe into the wall of his house.

"Owwwwwww... I hate you alllllllll," he moaned.

Black Kirby bust out laughing, rolling around on the dirt.

"Donokbe, it would be wise to keep all your opponents abilities in mind," Meta Knight said, sternly.

"Yes, Yoda," Donokbe said, rolling his eyes and holding his head.

"Want more?" Kirby asked.

"Beachball! Shut up!" Donokbe shouted.

"Like he's gonna' take orders from a watch," Black Kirby said, wiping a tear from his eye from having laughed so hard.

Before anyone could blink, something slammed into him and kept running. It then began rapidly slamming him into the rockface and dropkicked him. He went flying into Meta Knight. The robot, still having surprise, shot a blast from his palms, slamming them both off into a nearby mountain.

Black Kirby and Kirby popped in their Ultimate Copy Ability capsules and transformed into Star Shield Kirby and Nightmare Sword Black Kirby.

"The hell was that!" Black Kirby shouted.

"I don't know! Just- BEHIND YOU!" Kirby shouted, leaping towards Black Kirby.

Black Kirby rolled quickly to the side, narrowly dodging a blast from Zold's palms. Kirby lunged up, shooting a small blast at Zold. Myrannus, a former Necromancer, rolled out of the way, and performed a cloaking spell.

"Where is he?" Black Kirby asked.

"Why ask me? You can sense dark magic!" Kirby retorted, annoyed.

"Right, ummm... there!" Black Kirby exclaimed, thrusting his sword behind him, making Zold reappear.

A slight scratch was on his torso, but he was fine otherwise. He growled and shot a purple beam at Black Kirby, who then rolled over, covering his eyes, shrieking in fright.

With his Necromancy, of course, it was unthinkable for him to _not_ have a Fear spell. Black Kirby continued rolling around, holding his head, frightening images running rampant through his head.

So, basically, Kirby was alone. He didn't have Black Kirby, Donokbe, or even Meta Knight to help. Well, he's been training for a while, _surely_ he could defeat this... whatever it was.

Kirby darted forward and slid into Zold. Unfortunatley, Myrannus leapt into the air and stomped down, narrowly missing the puffball. Kirby thrust out his sword and hacked into the necromancer's foot. Zold growled angrily and shot his foot out, rocketing Kirby off into Donokbe's home's wall. He slid down, his eye twitching. He fell on his back, rolled over, and stood back up.

Myrannus rolled his eerily glowing eyes. This was more annoying the Titans. And they were pretty damn annoying. So, he rushed forward, at his 12 mph pace, preparing a blast.

Kirby jumped up on a platform-ish rock and began focusing. The android from the Brotherhood of Evil continued charging, and crashed into the wall. Kirby had jumped up into the air at just the right time to avoid him. With his focus... focused, for lack of a better term, he attempted to fire a beam. It didn't work because he was too tired from the sword beam.

So, with the opening, Zold blasted him, launching the pink beachball higher into the air. Kirby was knocked out and up. He had reached 1,000 feet before he lost momentum and began falling.

The sound of the roaring, rushing wind awoke him. He was a hundred feet above the planet. And he had no idea how he was going to survive. Especially considering all he had was a... shield? Could he use it to absorb the shock of hitting the ground? No, that's for lightning. Oh! Maybe he could throw the shield down with enough force right before he hit the ground! It. Could. Wo- OW!

Kirby had been saved by something _completely_ different. His other plan might've worked. If he had immense strength. Which he did not have. So... this was a godsend. He hit the cockpit of a jet.

"What the- !" the rider inside exclaimed.

"Poyo!" Kirby shouted, temporarily reverting back to baby-speak in the excitement of being alive.

"Since when has it been raining Star Warriors?" the driver asked himself.

He flew down and landed on the surface of Popstar. Kirby slid off, breathing a sigh of relief. The cockpit opened, revealing the driver as Rajiim. He leapt out, looking at Kirby questioningly.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Kirby, I'm- " Kirby said, before remembering Zold, coming to a full sense of alertness.

"What is it?" Rajiim asked. He saw nothing but green hills and a cave. No- What was that?

Rajiim had noticed our "friendly neighborhood" necromancer. Currently known as Zold Myrannus. The Star Warrior pulled out a rifle and fired. Zold took it and kept running. Rajiim pulled out most of the weaponry in the ship and picked up the auto-laser.

He fired away like there was no tommorrow. The dust was so thick, neither Kirby not Rajiim could see. The dust settled just a bit. Out of the cloud burst a claw which grabbed Rajiim and threw him into Kirby.

Lemme explain something. Distant solo space travel usually calls for hyper sleep. Hyper sleep numbs the pilot's mind and body until they're within 30 minutes of their destination, giving them a chance to wake up, fully.

Kirby's landing interrupted that by about 10 minutes, causing Rajiim to not be able to recuperate. So, when he was smashed against Kirby with _incredible_ strength, he was knocked out cold.

Kirby found himself alone once more. Zold fired several rapid blasts at Kirby, who blocked it with the shield. (surprised he still had the damn thing?)

The blasts managed to charge the shield up to the fullest. A giga blast issued from it, ripping into Zold. It shot him into the cave wall. The blast died down and Zold Myrannus leapt down, drop kicking Kirby. He began skidding along the grass, sending up a dust trail. Kirby flipped up and blocked several more blows from Myrannus.

A Cloud Clanner, Strife had been resting at the hospital. With the severe wounds and the possession, he had been horrible injured. So, he just had gotten out. He walked onto the large grassy knoll, looking at the sky when he heard the incredible sound of fighting. So, he rushed down to the valley where Zold and Kirby were duking it out.

That's where he entered. Right when Kirby had been skidding. The force caused him to spit out the Omega Copy Ability capsule. Strife looked down at him, his eyebrows raised, since he didn't have his mask on.

"Need a hand?" he asked, holding up what was formerly the Vexxor. Now that it was purified, it was back to normal. Kirby sucked it up and became Master Sword Kirby. (an actual form of Kirby's in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, so leave me alone)

He began shooting as many sword beams as possible at Zold. The robot dodged them and jumped up towards Kirby, his eyes blazing now. He couldn't tire, but he could get annoyed.

Unfortunately for him, Strife, while in no fighting condition, threw several of his daggers straight into Zold. This decreased his momentum to nihl. That hangtime allowed Kirby to fire off a massive sword beam point black. Zold was sent flying off over the ocean.

_**Island...**_

A peaceful day on Harbor Island. A few ship were baaing a bit. Out of nowhere, Zold Myrannus comes crashing down into the beach. The sheep ran off, terrified off whatever it was.

A woman about 18 stepped out onto the beach. A human girl. She had on a cloak with two swords strapped to her sides. Her blue hair was straight and went down about her face. She actually looked like she was related to Ivy Valentine. She wasn't, though. Just looked like it.

"Ah, Zold. You're not supposed to be here anymore. I'll put you back. Oh, and you won't remember any of this. 'Kay?" she said, smiling a bit.

"No. Let me try once more," Zold rasped.

"You've tested the beachball, now it's time to go. Raina'll give me hell if I don't. Off you go!" the woman said, opening a portal and closing it around Zold.

"Hey! Xana! Get back here! Landon has something for you!" a voice called.

"Sages! Must you be so effing loud? Jeez, Cody, I'm going, I'm going," Xana said, exasperated, walking through a portal.

_**Donokbe's Valley...**_

Meta Knight and Donokbe came rolling, yes, rolling, down the hill. Apparently, Donokbe tripped and began rolling. With his ears acting as spokes, he tripped Meta Knight. The ensuing scene is the result.

The two pinballs crashed into Strife and Black Kirby, now recovering, sending them rolling into Donokbe's cave.

They walked out, slowly, moaning, to see a sleeping Kirby. Strife's sword was right next to him. He was laying so peacefully and he fought so hard, they didn't have the heart to wake him.

_**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**_


	6. Clans: Sinner and Vice

_**Sinner and Vice (Not Livin' In an Amish Paradise)**_

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AN: Ugh. NS, if you don't like the story, don't read it. Everyone whose reviewed understands it, clearly. There may be a few others who don't quite grasp it, but I'm sure they'd be a little glad that I help clear a few things up. You just cuss me out. Listen. Reviews are for encouragement and/or criticism. NOT bashing pointlessly. Anyways, on with the story.

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**_

_**Dedede's Castle...**_

"Hey! I need me somethin' bettuh than a monstuh, from this dimension or anothuh!" Dedede roared, pounding the arms of his throne.

"Well, I'm sure we could do something for you, your majesty," Customer Service said, his glasses shined over.

"What couldja' send me?" Dedede demanded.

"Sire, maybe you shouldn't ask," Escargoon said, trying to persuade Dedede.

"Silence, Escahgoon! I need tuh to get ridda' that blasted Kirby and his buddies!" the King silenced.

"Yes, your majesty," Escargoon cringed.

"Dedede, we have a little gift for you. It's called Dark Matter. I'll sell enough to infect one of the Star Warriors. But be careful to infect the one you need to," Customer Service warned.

"Yeah, yeah, whutevuh. Send it to me!" the King ordered.

A flash of electrics and the King held the same matter that had infected Strife and turned him into Wrath. He laughed as he put it in a box and headed out to go for a little drive.

_**Donokbe's Home...**_

The Star Warriors lounged about Donokbe's quiet home. They had asked Rajiim about his reason for coming, but he said he couldn't remember. The crash and bash he'd received earlier disoriented him. He didn't know what he had been doing or where he was. He seemed to just have a memory block, as he remembered who he was.

Meta Knight got up out of his chair and looked at Kirby and Donokbe.

"We need for you two, _especially_, to work on your dual attacks. You can't seem to cooperate at all," Meta Knight ordered, drawing Galaxia.

"Couldn't we do this later? I'm still trying to get settled. We rolled down a mountain, if you recall!" Donokbe griped.

"Hurry up, Donokbe!" Kirby called, a hand on a sword he began regularly using. He sucked it up and became Sword Kirby as usual.

"I hate being a Star Warrior," Donokbe moaned, pulling out his own sword and sucking it up.

They charged towards Meta Knight, their swords out in front of them like a lance. The pair jumped and almost leapt off each other. But one of them made a misstep. The pair were launched directly to the ground. Donokbe got up, rubbing his head. Kirby rolled over, annoyed.

"Try again," Meta Knight said sternly.

They tried again. And again. And again. And again. And _again._ Finally, after several hours, Meta Knight sighed one last time and walked back home, Sword Knight and Blade Knight following close behind.

"Well, _that_ went well," Black Kirby said.

"Be quiet," Donokbe and Kirby said, both of them bruised and cut.

"I don't really use swords, but I am at least skilled in my maneuvers," Rajiim said, checking one of his two guns.

"Nobody asked you," Donokbe shot back, irritated and sore.

"True," Rajiim replied, stretching out.

Strife and Black Kirby then headed out to Cappy Town for a stroll. The two had become friends faster than with anyone else. Probably just the nature of the two, considering backgrounds and all.

Kirby stretched and yawned, his eyes closed, as he fell into a satisfied sleep. Donokbe followed suit after a few more seconds. Rajiim snorted as a gaudy limo came driving up, some fat guy driving. Twas the king, which he didn't know.

"Hey, uh, whoever-you-are, these two are asleep, go away," Rajiim said, dismissing Dedede.

"Do you know who you talkin' to, Sta' Wayuh?" Dedede demanded, glaring daggers at Rajiim.

"No, and I really don't care," Rajiim replied, snickering to himself.

"I was gonna' save this for that long-eared freak, but you'll do even bettuh!" Dedede shouted, releasing the Nightmare Matter.

The ball went shooting out, and it collided with Rajiim. He was knocked into the wall of Donokbe's home, and the energy sank into him as he slid down the rock face, groaning in pain. He curled up in the fetal position, still groaning in pain. An odd aura began emerging, and his groans became louder and louder still.

"That'll learn ya', ya' stupid Sta' Wayyuh!" Dedede cackled, driving off.

Rajiim's aura turned a dark purple, and his groans began dying down. Donokbe rolled over and fell off his chair, still fast asleep. Kirby, however, woke up, curious as to what was making the noise.

Then, Rajiim got up. But he had changed. Ever so much. He had a more slender form. His shoulders had an egg-like shape. A three-pronged crown was on the front of his helmet, and he had slits for pupils. His armor was dark green with a few purple glowing points.

"Rajiim!" Kirby shouted.

"Rajiim is gone. I am... Vice!" the being formerly known as Rajiim, now Vice, shouted, sounding like several voices.

"Ohhhhhh... no. Not another damned Nightmare Matter Monster," Donokbe griped.

"And without BK, we can't become the Tri-Knight," Kirby added.

Vice pulled out a rifle and blasted at the pair, "how do you think you'll fare against the Sinner?"

"Probably pretty well!" Donokbe retorted, pulling out his sword and a capsule, swallowing both to become Rainbow Knight Donokbe with extra sword capabilities (in Black Kirby's absence).

Kirby pulled out his own capsule, but instead of turning into Star Shield, he became Chain Blade Bomber. It was incredibly complex in its recipe, which made it virtually impossible to get without synthesis. A chain-like crown formed on his head, along with metal plates over his arms and legs.

Vice smirked and the Sinner glowed and transformed into a different build. It had a large clip on the bottom, each piece of ammunition looking like a dagger. He formed skates on his boots and jetted up the side of Donokbe's Cave. Donokbe and Kirby looked up, but then averted their eyes because of the sun.

Vice added a scope to his gun and homed in on Donokbe, the larger of the two targets. Several blasts pierced his armor, and two pierced his skin. He cried out as blood began flowing slowly. No arteries had been hit, but a few veins had. He winced from the pain, but training as a soldier taught him to shrug it off. Vice finally landed and Donokbe lunged out with his sword. Vice just transfigured his gun again, this time into a machine gun-style. He let loose and caught both Donokbe and Kirby in the flurry.

Kirby, luckily, caught the very minimal of it, while Donokbe was torn into. He was sprawled on the ground, heavily bleeding. He pulled one last move. The Rainbow Emblem on his torso glowed brightly. All the damage he received went into its energy supply, and now, it was gonna' blow. A multi-chromatic explosion emerged and consumed Vice, throwing him into the cave.

The damage had been received from Vice, so Kirby and Donokbe went unaffected. Donokbe did, however, pass out.

Kirby looked over at his KO'd friend and at the Nightmare Monster. He activated his ability as chains with four-pronged stars at the end emerged from his hands. They reacted to his mental commands, as they shot straight for Vice. Vice couldn't react in time, and thus was quickly ensnared. The chain blades pinned him to the wall, causing miniature explosions. Vice cried out in pain with each one. Kirby set off more until it was too full of smoke to see.

When the dust settled, Vice hung there, limp. Kirby tossed him to the ground, disgusted. He retracted the chain blades and walked over to Donokbe. He picked up his wrist and felt. After a few seconds, he breathed a sigh of relief. Donokbe was still alive, if only barely. He picked him up with two of the chains and ran back to Cappy Town, using other chain blades to help swing him for extra boosts whenever possible.

_**Cappy Town...**_

Kirby put Donokbe down at Chef Kawasaki's. Tiff was nearby, giving Kirby reason to thank all benevolent forces.

"Kirby? What happened?" she asked, hurriedly.

"A new Nightmare Monster possessed Rajiim. Can you take care of Donokbe?" Kirby asked.

"Sure I can," Tiff said, examining his wounds.

When she looked up, Kirby was already swinging off back to Donokbe's Cave.

"What was that about- What the hell happened to him!" Black Kirby demanded, flabbergasted by the horrible wounds.

"A Nightmare Monster. You should go help Kirby," Tiff said, focused on getting bandages for the injured Star Warrior at her feet.

_**Donokbe's Cave...**_

Kirby swung back and slid a few feet, looking around for any sign of Rajiim or Vice.

"Rooooouuuund two!" Vice said, blasting Kirby from behind.

"Dishonorable tactician," Kirby got up, his back smoking.

"True, but whoever got ahead in life by being virtuous? Rajiim certainly didn't. He did everything he possibly could for all the universe, and what does he find at home? Skeletons and the diary of his dearly departed father, Oaken," Rajiim said, disgusted.

Then Kirby was staring down the barrel of the Sinner.

"Virtues are WORTHLESS!" Vice shouted, blasting Kirby into the wall.

Kirby rolled over and righted himself in time to block a few of Vice's blasts. The stray lasers hit to the side, exploding, sending Kirby flying. But he managed to fully direct his momentum towards Vice.

"CHAIN BOMBER STORM!" Kirby shouted, dozens of chain blades emerging from his hands, feet, and crown. He was nothing but a mass of chain blades.

He ripped into Vice, becoming a confused mass of fire and blades. Vice's screams of pain were heard only by Kirby, Vice himself, and the one heading for the fighters. Kirby finally ran out of energy and he spat out the capsule. The energy meter on the side was completely grayed out. He pocketed it and pulled out a different capsule.

Vice didn't give Kirby time to pop in the next one, as he had transfigured his gun into a bazooka-style gun and blasted Kirby _through_ the wall of Donokbe's cave. Kirby landed rather poorly with a coughing fit ensuing from the intense amount of dust. He got back up, unsteady and swallowed the capsule, changing into Soldier Kirby. He held up his own cannon and rushed out of the whole.

'_Guess Donokbe has that garage he wanted_,' Kirby thought, snickering.

When he saw Vice, he shot with all three barrels, causing Vice to go skidding off several hundred yards. Vice got up, growling. He jetted off, starting to get faster, until he began skating _through the air_. He was several hundred feet above the ground and his momentum finally ceased. Vice charged up the Sinner as Kirby charged up his own weapon.

With Vice only fifty feet from the ground and closing fast, Kirby let loose his blast. Vice blasted in retaliation, the two huge beams now caught in a power struggle. Vice was being held up with the pillar of energy and was pushing down. He had experience with weapons, he had hate, rage, and a downward momentum. This gave him a tremendous advantage over Kirby.

However, Kirby was fighting for his life, which caused them to equal out, neither giving any ground.

Then, finally, Kirby's backup arrived. Black Kirby. He swallowed his own capsule and became Laser Black Kirby. He looked for the proper target for his weapon to ricochet off of. Finally, he found it. He ran over on the opposite side of the hill and blasted into a crevase. It bounced up and over, then bounced off the cave wall. It then was sent with increased momentum into the Sinner. The weapon short-circuited and Vice was caught in a tremendous blast.

The Nightmare Monster was sent flying up another hundred feet, then crashed into the mini-lake Kirby and the others had dug and filled. Kirby spat out the other capsule, and noticed it was grayed out as well. Dang. He needed to get stronger power sourced for these. He put it away and looked to the lake.

Rajiim burst from it, sputtering.

"...THE HELL WAS THAT!" he roared, heavily confused.

Kirby puffed up and floated over to Rajiim, who grabbed onto him. Kirby then dropped him on the shore, allowing Rajiim to pass out. Nobody woke him up after the battle with Zold Myrannus, so he wouldn't bother Rajiim in his sleep.

_**Several Days Later...**_

An odd silhouette was on the horizon of the setting sun. It looked small, like a Star Warrior, but it had many jagged points to it. The silhouette walked forward out to a large lake, the very one that Vice landed in before Rajiim was free.

"Brother! Come to me!" the figure said, its hands in the air.

A slimy little glob came creeping out of the water. When it reached the figure, it came into a more definite form.

"Ah, brother, you're back. CS pondered where you were," the new figure said.

"Well, it's hard to hide in-between tiles for a long period of time," the other figure said.

"That explains it. But how are you here?"

"Our younger brother came here. He has possessed your Other's ship."

"Ah... well, shall we go find our younger sibling?"

"He is waiting for us at the top of Mt. Color," the other figure said, pointing at the largest mountain.

**(Author's Challenge: Figure out who these two are.)**

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	7. Clans: Ceasefire

_**Ceasefire...**_

_**

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AN: With Casiana1's helpful suggestion, I decided to make a chapter that focused moreso on moving the plot along with less fighting. This will hopefully move the plot along a bit. Hopefully. Oh, and while writing people's accents may be annoying, but it's not amateurish. Plenty of great writers wrote out accents. On this site, check out LegendMaker. Occasionally, she writes accents herself. Sorry it's boring, by the way. I'll get the Star Warriors moving next chapter.**__**

* * *

Donokbe's Cave...**_

"Okay, with all the monsters and whatnot we've been facing, we haven't had time to figure out what's up lately. We've barely been introduced to each other, except in battle," Donokbe said.

"True. We've gotten to know each other, except for Rajiim," Black Kirby said, in agreeance.

"Well, I'm a Geo Storm Clanner, for one thing," Rajiim said.

"Judging by the fact that you're a Soldier, you're with the Storm Sect," Donokbe said.

"Yes, and offshoot of you're Clan," Rajiim replied.

"Until the generations mixed so much, it hardly matters," Donokbe said, offhandedly.

"Did you not get any Geomin Training?" Meta Knight asked.

"Of course. All of the Geo Storm Clan had Geomin and Storm Training. Basic, of course. No one could become a Master of both," Rajiim said.

"What class of Storm are you?" Donokbe asked.

"Hurricane. The highest. Graduated 5th in a class of 13," Rajiim replied.

"Do you know any Geomin?" Black Kirby asked.

"There were a few that might've been in the war. But, I don't know," Rajiim replied.

"Surely, your planet...?" Black Kirby asked.

"I came from there a few weeks ago. It's a desolate planet with no life to speak of, now," Rajiim replied.

"Did your father's diary tell you what happened?" Kirby asked.

"Yes. A large meteor circled them until finally a full scale invasion ensued," Rajiim answered, standing up.

"The Necrosi?" Donokbe asked.

"Yes. You have heard of them?" Rajiim asked.

"There are legends of them in various Rainbow literature. I'm sure there are stories about them in other Clans' literature, as well," Donokbe replied, unsheathing his sword and placing it on the table, now examining it.

He pressed down on the jeweled center, and it began glowing. He lifted up the jewel plate and removed an actual orb.

"This, my friends, is a Necrosi Jewel. It contains some Necrotix, or Death Magic, capabilities," Donokbe said, holding up the purple gem.

"Where did you get that?" Rajiim asked.

"It's a family heirloom," Donokbe replied, replacing the jewel.

"What else do you know about the Necrosi?" Rajiim asked.

"The Necrosi are led by a powerful Star Warrior, whose rumored to be immortal," Donokbe replied.

"The Rasputin's name, please," Rajiim said, with half-eyes.

"Dakron Shai. Or, Dark Ones King," Donokbe replied.

"I recall a Light Ones King. I never read about Dakron Shai," Black Kirby pondered.

"You read about Lithrel Sunai. Another powerful Star Warrior. Lithrel and Dakron have waged war on each other for centuries, neither giving ground.

"And now, my planet has been caught in the crossfire," Rajiim angrily said.

"As has mine. Dark Kirby was from Nightmare, sure, but Nightmare and the Necrosi are like this," Donokbe said, crossing two fingers.

"Nightmare's been defeated by Kirby when the Nightmare in Dreamland occured," Meta Knight said.

"Yes, and so has Dark Mirror, another one of Necrosi's generals," Black Kirby said.

"And you were created by him, weren't you?" Kirby asked.

"Yes, in a sense. When he shattered the Amazing Mirror, he created five Kirbys. You became four split consciences and one whole one. I was the whole one which helped you out later," Black Kirby said.

"Right," Kirby agreed.

"Well, that rids us of two of their blasted breed. Do you know of the generals, Meta Knight?" Donokbe asked.

Meta Knight was gone, his cape briefly visible to those who looked out the door.

"Huh. Odd. He might have a lead or something. Possibly just wanted to leave here," Black Kirby said.

"Well then. We've resolved our current dispute. We must find the rest of the Necrosi. Court adjourned?" Rajiim asked.

Donokbe snorted, "yeah, whatever. We need to practice our techniques anyways. Rajiim, you need to find out where the Necrosi are now. You can find them easier due to your Geomin training."

"Sure thing, boss!" Rajiim mocked, saluting and then walking out.

Donokbe shook his head, "he's got spirit, but he's just bloody annoying."

"Twu. But you were annoying too, at first," Kirby said, walking up next to Donokbe.

"I've seen him before. At Rochalam. That was a devastating battle for us and the Monsters," Donokbe said.

"You did? How come you didn't speak up?" Kirby asked.

"There are some battles I'd like to forget," Donokbe sighed, walking out to follow a few of the others.

Kirby sat alone, then walked over to the cot, rolled over, and fell asleep. All the discussion about other "races" made his brain hurt.

_**Mt. Color…**_

"Ah, brother, here you are," one of the figures said.

"Yes, I have been waiting for you. CS sent me shortly after your battle with your Other," a large figure said.

All three were obscured by the darkness of the cave. Another figure spoke up.

"Surely we can attack the Star Warriors now?" he asked.

"No… we must wait. They intend to fight the Necrosi. We must give them hell throughout the journey. Make them easier prey for the Necrosi. If the Necrosi cannot finish them, we will. Each of us must take care of our Other. I shall take out the Chosen One, as I have no Other, when it gets down to technicalities," the large figure answered.

"Ah… I see now, brother. The Sins are the ultimate. We reigned over the galaxy once. We shall do so again!" another figure said.

"Yes, dear brothers. With me as your leader, we can't be defeated. We shall slaughter the Star Warriors, obliviate anything in our way to power, and take our rightful place as ruler of the universe. Just as we were destined to do so," the large figure said, his hands in the air, laughing.

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	8. Clans: Memories and Plans

_**Memories and Plans...**_

_**

* * *

Okay then, now that we have them prepared and all that jazz, let's get them to head out for the Necrosi! This'll be the end of the Clans Arc and beginning of another. There will be fight scenes, but it's all flashbacks to see the pain some of these have suffered. Still Again, for people who have yet to understand, this is Alternate Universe. It does not follow Canon entirely. Only mine. Quit effing bugging me about it. 'Kay?

* * *

**_

_**Kirby...**_

Kirby was a young Star Warrior, sure. He's just now learning how to say things other than 'poyo', the language of the baby Star Warriors. But he was powerful. Incredibly powerful, in fact. Many Star Warriors with three times his experience aren't half as powerful as Kirby. He was the Chosen One. The Star in the Darkness.

_**Nightmare's Headquarters...**_

Everything was black. The young Star Warrior couldn't see anything and was horribly frightened. He was in a small holding cell. A humanoid monster walked up to the small holding cell in a black lab coat that had a few blue stars on it. His glasses were made of crystal, giving off a small refracted light. Somehow, he could see despite that and began running tests on Kirby.

"Wake up, Project: Star," the monster-scientist said.

Kirby shuddered at the cold, slimy voice, but did get up, looking scared and confused.

"Project: Star does respond to command at only 2 years of age, quite young for a Star Warrior," the monster-scientist dictated into a recorder.

Kirby cocked his head, staring at the odd scientist.

"Now, Kirby, it's time for the first test of the day."

Kirby moaned as he was placed, quite roughly, on a platform. Several objects were on all sides of him. The countdown started. 3. 2. 1. GO!

Kirby rapidly sucked up the objects. He then transformed. A long black cloak formed around him. A black band with a silver skull on it appeared on Kirby's head and he held a scythe. A complicated combination of items lead to Grim Reaper Kirby. (Sword; Original Six Elements; Dark; 2 Magic; Time; Scythe)

Then a giant four-armed knight-like Monster floated in, menacingly. Kirby glared at it, his training from Nightmare and the scientist-monster kicking in. His eyes flared a smoky green as he flew into the giant Monster, his scythe swinging. The Monster shot one of his arms at Kirby, but missed narrowly. Kirby then sliced the arm cleanly in two. The Monster roared in anger and anguish and flew at Kirby. Kirby focused for a second and his scythe began glowing. He then was on the other side of the Monster so fast it looked like two seperate frames.

The Monster turned around and prepared to launch all its arms when it fell into nothing but scrap. Kirby floated down to the ground, the cloak around him moving almost shadow-like.

"Project: Star has shown an aptitude for blades, able to devastate Mega Titan with just a few swipes," the monster-scientist dictated, quite interested in the development.

"Of course, this is in no small part due to Lord Nightmare's brief corruption of the youngling," the monster-scientist added, scribbling something down.

"That was more of a purification, Manthra," Nightmare hissed in the scientist's, Manthra's, mind.

"Yes, of course, Lord Nightmare. Forgive me for my impudence," Manthra said, bowing to seemingly no one.

"Have you concluded your research for the day?" Nightmare boomed.

"I have one more test to administer," Manthra said, working on the console.

Kirby looked around to see a Machine Gun that appeared. He spat out the scythe and inhaled the Gun (Gunner) to become Manta Cannon. A large bronze knight came thundering in, making a large boom with every step.

Heavy Knight stopped and unsheathed his sword.

Kirby locked on to Heavy Knight and began charging up the cannon.

Heavy Knight raised up the sword and kept walking.

Kirby had almost finished charging.

Heavy Knight leapt into the air after gaining speed and came down.

Kirby still had Heavy Knight in his crosshairs and the charging was complete.

Heavy Knight was mere feet above Kirby, his sword striking down.

Kirby blasted the Manta Cannon point blank.

The explosion rocked the field as Heavy Titan was obliterated.

"Yessssss. Kirby is much stronger than I anticipated. He will make a great warrior in our Monster Army," Nightmare hissed.

"Yessir. And with the purification you've performed on him, he'll obey you implicitly," Manthra said.

"Open up the doors. I wish to discuss something with our new addition to the ranks," Nightmare said.

"Yes, milord," Manthra replied, opening the door from the console.

Nightmare floated in, "hello, Project: Star. ARGH!"

Kirby hadn't used all the charge on Heavy Titan, but he continued charging and had now used 100 percent power on Nightmare. He then dashed out of the door.

"Stop him!" Nightmare roared, in a fury, "KILL HIM!"

Manthra ran towards Kirby, a dagger drawn.

Kirby shot out a small blast from the Manta Cannon, knocking Manthra through the glass door, killing him. Kirby ran on into the docking bay.

A large Monster guarded the way, "What the hell do you think yer doin', pipsqueak?"

Kirby didn't answer, he had been charging up the Manta Cannon again and blasted the Monster with it, incinerating him. He leapt into the ship and set it for the closest inhabitable Planet. It took off and put him into a deep sleep/

It had been years before he finally reached Popstar. And during those years, he had lost that influence from Nightmare, and thus the training.

_**Meta Knight...**_

Meta Knight peered into the jewel of Galaxia, never willing to forgot the sacrifices of war. Many had died. Many of his family. Many friends. Far too many Star Warriors died. He was saddened by this. But he knew Star Warriors were immortal. When one died, the spirit would either create its own body or inhabit a body with another promising Star Warrior within its Clan to share its own teachings gradually as the Star Warrior grew.

But what had begun eating at Meta Knight was the enormous drop in Star Warrior population. They would've surely replenished by now. They were divided into Clans, that was a fact, but that made no difference except for fighting disciplines and general body design. They were still Star Warriors. Nothing would change that. So the Clan Geo Storm should 've been rebuilding by the time Rajiim returned. There should have been life there.

Only there wasn't. And that bothered Meta Knight. New Star Warriors should 've begun replenishing Dream Star several years before Rajiim's bootsteps echoed throughout the desolate planet. That meant something or someone was stealing the souls and keeping them so no new Generation of Star Warriors could come back...

Only one person he knew of could do that. But he was dead. Meta Knight _saw_ _him die._

_**Battle of Nioxx...**_

The Hurricane War was a series of battles that caused the schism in the Geo Storm Clan. Originally, there was just the Geomin Clan. But several raiders had begun taking over continents. They called themselves Storm Clanners. And they didn't use their elemental powers. They were soldiers who were born without their powers, then taught others that elemental powers were worthless and how they should bear arms.

The leader, Rayner, was ruthless in his strategies. He fought with guerilla tactics, which the Geomin Clanners weren't used to. So, the Geomin Clanners called out to other Clans to help them quash this rebellion quickly. The last battle was where Meta Knight first fought. And it was Rayner who could capture souls of Star Warriors. He had done so and grown nearly invincible.

"Now! Those Storm Clanners have been killing far too many Star Warriors for my tastes! Let's show them that _no one _messes with the Galactic Army without **repercussions**," the General of the Galactic Army leading this faction, a great soldier and leader named Krena.

Everyone cheered.

"Now, does everyone remember the strategy?" Krena asked, a smirk on his face.

Everyone laughed. Krena had one strategy: blast and hack the bejeezus out of the opposition. That was his first ever strategy and he had stuck with it. It rarely failed. So, why change?

"Those Storm Clanner rats are coming now. Everyone, get ready for possibly one of the toughest battles of your lives. Possibly in the history of the Galaxy.We will make history as the faction to wipe out the rebellious Storm Clanners!" Krena shouted, "CHARGE!"

The Star Warriors burst from everywhere. Bushes, trees, the building, the roof, the nearby creek. Everywhere. The Storm Clanners had no clue what the hell happened. They had conquered the capital city of Dream Star. They had defeated several key figures in the war. They devastated the armadas and weaponry. Things had been going so well. Now, they may be overtaken simply because they prolonged the war, allowing the enemy to study their strategy and wait for them to make the biggest possible tactical error.

Meta Knight was in the ranks. The Hurricane War had occured before even Nightmare came. It was thousands of years ago, so he was still just a foot soldier. This was the battle that would get him highly revered amongst other Star Warriors and it might've even been what had caused Galaxia to choose him.

He ran through the ranks, hacking through the various Monsters with the silver blade issued to all foot soldiers. A Monster burst from the ground, sending him flying upwards, debris around him. Then, Krena burst through it all, obliterating the rocks with several quick blasts, placing Meta Knight back on the ground, and firing a shot dead center in the Monster's head.

"Keep steady soldier! This charge shall be dead towards Rayner. Keep them damned Monsters and Storm Revolters off my back," Krena said, helping Meta Knight back up.

"Sir, yes sir!" Meta Knight replied, getting in a battle-ready position.

Krena darted forward towards the center of the Storm Soldier army, and Meta Knight followed, fleet of foot. Krena blasted most of the monsters out of the way, but Meta Knight did end up slicing through a few that almost managed to tear into either Krena or himself.

"You're pretty good, soldier!" Krena shouted over the roar of the battle.

"Thank you sir!" Meta Knight replied.

"What's yer name, son?" Krena asked, gunning down a few leaping Monsters and charging Storm Soldiers.

"Meta Knight, sir! Meta Knight," Meta Knight said, leaping through the air and slicing through several Storm Soldiers.

He landed on his feet with one hand helping to take the shock, then he darted forward again, Krena right beside him still.

"There's our target! He's right there! RAYNER!" Krena roared.

"Ah, the mighty Krena chooses to oppose me?" Rayner asked, amused.

Meta Knight was about to say something, but a Monster dived towards him and he had to defend himself.

"That's damn right! You've killed too many Star Warriors, Rayner," Krena growled, threateningly.

Rayner smiled arrogantly and Krena charged, his gun put away and his sword out. The two clashed. Rayner hit hard enough to put a brief enough shock into Krena that he slammed him again with his sword, knocking Krena back a few feet. Krena rolled back up, leapt into the air and threw his sword down as hard as possible. Rayner blocked the blade, but he had to pause from the shock of the blade.

Krena had enough to time to pull out his gun and blast several dozen times. About a dozen hit the target. The rest missed or were deflected as Rayner quickly recovered from the shock. The blasts were deflected right back at Krena. He fell to the ground and collapsed. Rayner laughed mockingly a bit as he walked slowly to Krena. He raised up his sword, then gasped in pain and surprise to see a sword sticking _right out of his chest._

Krena took the opportunity and blasted Rayner right between the eyes. The leader of the Storm Revolt crumpled, revealing Meta Knight, his armor broken off, his face bloody, and his left arm hanging limply, as if broken or severely damaged. But his eyes held a triumphant fire in them.

"You did good, Meta," Krena choked out.

"Are you okay sir?" Meta Knight asked, trying to help Krena up.

"Leave me be Meta. My wounds are too severe. Help out your comrades that need you now. I need only time," Krena said, semi-smiling then wincing in pain.

"Yes sir!" Meta Knight said, pumped, as he ran off to help his brothers-in-arms, so to speak.

_**Donokbe...**_

Donokbe. A simple being, really. He had seen war. Yet he seemed unaffected. Active word: seemed. He, like many others, covered his warrior's spirit with a mask. The worst battle he'd ever fought in was during the Storm Wars. Now, he was getting ready to throw himself into another conflict like everyone on the ship. He musta been crazy or somethin'...

_**Durese II...**_

The Hurricane Wars. Some believe the Battle of Nioxx was the bloodiest and biggest battle of the Hurricane Wars. Not so. The Battle of Durese II was even worse. The Star Warriors had discovered then that Rayner had allied himself with Monsters. Possibly from one of the older Generals of the Chaos Lord. Most speculated that Rayner allied himself with Sirnor, the most powerful General at that time. They were right.

The Star Warriors had scanned the planet for the base and found thousands of Monsters and Storm Clanners alike. They decided to bring in all reserves for it to quickly quash the army that had gathered there.

Phoenix Bots rained down like meteors. Each Bot held about 5 to 7 Star Warriors. Donokbe was in the backseat of one of the Phoenix Bots.

"Hey, Rutum, I heard a rumor that Sirnor s'posed to be on this planet," Naram whispered.

"I hope to the Sages he ain't. We got enough problems as is, what with the thousands of Monsters and damned Storm betrayers," Rutum replied.

"He's there. Sirnor wouldn't just ally himself without trying to kill of as much of the Galactic Army as he possibly can. Same goes for any other Monster General that possibly became allies with Rayner," Donokbe said.

"We're almost on the planet! Get ready for the landin'!" the pilot, Crat, shouted.

Everyone was briefly jarred, but okay.

"Move out! I'll need Rutum and Naram to man the left and right guns, respectively. Soni, you make sure everything's running smoothly and fix anything that ain't! The rest of ya', head out into battle!" Crat shouted.

Donokbe and Noklin complied, jumping out the door. Noklin headed for the closest monster, while Donokbe darted for the next Phoenix Bot.

The place was utter chaos. Stray shots were everywhere. It was easy to find several Star Warriors ganging up on a Monster or vice-versa. Donokbe helped out any Warrior he found in need.

He then found one of the larger Monsters. One of Sirnon's Generals. Rentel. He was reptilian in appearance, although he had a cybernetic right arm. Rentel had a cloak covering his legs completely except for the metal boots. He held a scythe and noticed Donokbe.

"Ah... another prey for the Reaper of the Battlefield," Rentel growled.

"That previous prey will be your last!" Donokbe shouted, lunging towards Rentel.

The Reaper of the Battlefield slammed his scythe down, with the intent of gutting Donokbe. The Star Warrior wouldn't die that easy, however, and grabbed the rod right under the blade. He swung above the scythe head, then slid down towards Rentel. He leapt off the rod and kicked Rentel dead in the face.

Rentel cried out in pain, then swiped with his left hand, and grabbed Donokbe.

"You'll pay for that, midget," Rentel grunted.

"I prefer the term "vertically challenged"," Donokbe quipped, slipping out of Rentel's grasp and pulling out his sword.

Rentel made the scythe disappear and turned his arm into a gatling gun, his aim on Donokbe. Donokbe gasped, but fell to the ground, the bullets close enough he could hear them whizzing by. He rolled about, quickly getting closer to Rentel until he was right under him. Donokbe unfurled from his ball form and made a large gash in Rentel's legs with his sword.

Rentel roared in pain and fell to the ground. He shot Donokbe in the leg, making him crumple. A Star Warrior came running through. The anonymous Warrior threw his sword through Rentel's head, leapt on him, and ripped it out. He then kept running through.

Donokbe thanked whatever benevolent force just saved him. It had been Strife, surprisingly, but he never really got a good look at him. He got back up and headed for the nearest Phoenix Bot for medical attention and possibly a position as a gunner...

_**Strife...**_

Strife. A bounty hunter. Mercenary, really. He was ruthless with his prey and much more often preferred killing, unless he got more money otherwise. He had been in a few wars. None of them really bothered him. What had was one particular hunt...

_**Serrok Star...**_

After the Monster Wars, every planet still "alive" was renamed and had Star added on the end. This was to symbolize the new peaceful millenium. The Star Millenium. Originally, this had been Correso. And it was here Strife had his most memorable hunt of all.

His prey had a bounty on her head of 100 Thousand Stars. That would be enough to set him for life. He'd never have to kill again. Her name was Taran Wethal. And she had pissed off the wrong people. She was one of the rare groups of Star Warriors that were a master of fighting styles, magic styles, and the control of elements. An Etheri. They were hated for not having helped the Star Warriors in the Hurricane Wars, but especially for the less-talked-about Ether Civil War.

The Etheri Civil War happened shortly after the Great Monster War, but ended quickly, thankfully. It was caused when a faction of the Etheri broke off and became evil. They christened themselves Umbrasi, and they waged war on the Galaxy. It was ended with the death of Lord Kano, the leader.

Now, Taran Wethal, one of the last Etheri, had accidentally revealed herself. And she had a huge bounty now.

So, he had stalked her, setting up traps in various places, waiting for the right time. And he found it.

She had gone into a small mining tunnel, where he had placed a large number of mines. She had been chased down there by a large series of traps. Now, she would die.

Strife waited in the shadows, but then noticed she walked passed the minefield without setting them off. Strife, furious, rushed out after her, his blades drawn. The mines, however, had only been briefly deactivated. And now, Strife was caught in explosions. But he survived. Barely.

"I knew you were following me. I can deactivate mines with a bit of manipulation of the air to make the detectors think nothing's passing them by," Taran said.

"So... fin... ish the... job. Kill... me," Strife moaned.

"No. It's now the way of my people. Not the way of the Etheri," Taran replied.

"No! I... couldn't stand... the thought... of... ow... ing... my life... to some... one," Strife struggled.

"Shhhh. Be still," Taran ordered, manipulating the impulses in his brain to render him unconscious.

_She had spared my life, apparently healed me. She even opened my mind to the same powers she possessed. I couldn't stand it. But, I owed her my life. So I never hunted her or her kind again. I took up more bounties, but I never forgot her, her kindness, or what she did to me._

_**Rajiim...**_

Rajiim was an all around okay guy. He could be snippy and kind of an ars at times, but he was mostly okay. Anyone who had just met him would never have gotten the impression that anything bad had happened to him, really. And they'd be wrong.

At birth, Rajiim was normal. His time as a child was relatively normal, he developed and seemed more interested in being a Geomin Master than a Storm Commando. When he hit adulthood, he was great at both. But then the Monster War happened. He had elemental abilities, but he rarely used them so as to become a great Storm Commando. And he was...

_**Battle of Rochalam...**_

"General! What are your orders!" Vao-Zaal asked.

"We need to block in the Monsters from all sides. When they're cornered, let loose with every ounce of firepower we have!" General Sio replied.

"Who shall lead the charge?" Rajiim asked.

"We need to corner them, so we need several of our best Storm Commandos to fight," Sio answered, "Dawnak, Mettalis, Rajiim and I will lead the four charges to corner the Monsters! Dialob _will_ fall today!" Sio ordered.

Dialob was higher-up on the Monster chain of command. One of the Generals of Nightmare, in fact. He was a great beast, with a multitude of horns and armor plates covering his body. A fiery aura surrounded him and he could summon that element. The temperature would rise just getting closer to him. But he was the monster General the Storm Commandos were faced with. The Storm Commandos were the ones other parts of the Galactic Army (the name for all the Clans under one banner) would call for the incredibly tough missions, like Dialob's campaign to conquer Rochalam.

"Dialob, while a great strategist, is rarely patient. He will strike before the day is through. We must get in our positions, NOW!" General Sio ordered.

The Storm Commandos shouted a chorus of "sir, yes, sir!" and hurried off to hide in the mountains nearby.

But Sio was incorrect. Dialob is _never_patient. He had already mobilized his forces and they were marching shortly after the Storm Commandos had successfully hidden.

It was a horrid sight. A great beast thundered over the hills. Dialob, the great beast, was leading his great army of monsters. He was rhino-like in appearance, albeit covered in plates and horns.

Within seconds the Storm Commandos burst out, with an element of surprise that wouldn't last long. They were on all four sides of the monster army. No prisoners.

Rajiim had his basic pistols out, then changed them into one weapon, similar to a heavy repeating carbine. And Rajiim let loose a spray of power blasts from it.

A scorpion-like monster came roaring out of nowhere at him. He had been taken by surprise, so he couldn't react. Another Star Warrior came up and sliced throught it.

"Keep fighting General! You have the Rainbow Clan with you!" the Star Warrior shouted, slicing through several more monsters. It had been Donokbe.

Several other Rainbow Clanners came out of the proverbial nowhere and helped out with the fight.

"Uthai! Watch your form!" one cried.

"Gigabyte me, Wynn," came a reply.

With the Rainbow Clanners help, the monsters were cut down in numbers til barely a handful were left along with Dialob, who was far more than a handful.

"Warriors! Ignore the monsters, GO FOR DIALOB!" Sio roared, leaping at the great beast.

Dialob roared out a laugh, "you pathetic Star Warriors shall never beat me!"

Dialob swiped a mighty claw, knocking Sio straight into the ground. Sio got back up, then pulled apart his sword into two guns. Sio got a platform via the nearest Rainbow Clanner's ears. He flew with tremendous speed, blasting away, shouting in rage.

"FOR THE CLAN RAINBOW!" was cried as virtually every Rainbow Clanner charged or leapt up towards Dialob to strike down the great beast.

"FOR THE CLAN GEO STORM!" was cried as the Storm Commandos began blasting away at Dialob.

In the end, it hadn't been enough. Dialob laughed virtually all of it off and began rapidly killing the Galactic Army that had attacked him. The remaining monsters had been struck down.

Rajiim was next to Sio, helping up his leader, "sir! What can we do? He's too strong!"

Sio pulled out a small orb, "Rajiim, it was good serving with you. Allow an old man the pleasure of being remembered for having killed Dialob."

"Sir! You're going to-" Rajiim asked, before Sio charged at Dialob.

"HEY! FUCKTARD! YOU THINK YOU'RE SOMETHING, HUH! DO YA'? YOU CAN'T DO A DAMN THING WITHOUT AN ARMY BACKING YOUR SORRY ASS UP!" Sio roared, as he leapt straight at Dialob's head.

Dialob roared in anger. And that's all Sio needed as he managed to get in his mouth. He pressed the orb as he was swallowed and said a silent prayer. Rajiim looked on in awe as Dialob moaned in pain, then was incinerated by the explosion ensuing.

The Storm Commando looked around to see a handful of Star Warriors left. Many had died today. But none would be forgotten. Rajiim saluted his fallen leader, then ran to his remaining crew to administer medical treatment.

_**Donokbe's Cave...**_

"Okay. Apparently, Rajiim's Ship was blown up or stolen. However, I've fixed up my own ship and merged it with the remains of Kirby's, Strife's, and Meta Knight's," Donokbe said.

"You found my ship?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yeah. It was difficult to find, out there in Wispy Woods. But, ole Wispy helped, so it was easy enough," Donokbe replied.

"What's the plan?" Sword Knight asked.

"Rajiim will lead us to Dream Star. From there, we can gather up Necrosi readings and pinpoint their current location," Donokbe said.

"You have a scanner device?" Blade Knight asked.

"Yeah, got it from my own ship," Donokbe answered, heading to the back of the cave.

The others followed and saw the ship. It was large and sleek, with Kirby's ship fixed up and built in as the cockpit. Meta Knight's ship and Rajiim's ship made up the main body, and Strife's ship was the main engine, having the biggest boosters.

"Will it hold us all?" Kirby asked.

"It should. Strife's ship could hold five Star Warriors. Meta Knight's could hold three. Mine could hold three. And Kirby's holds one," Donokbe said.

"It'll easily hold us all, then," Strife said.

"Well, let's load up and head out," Meta Knight ordered.

Everyone got their best weapons, basic necessities (food, water, etc.), and a few pieces of armor (not to mention the capsules Donokbe had created) and packed them in Strife's ship, which was pretty much the Cargo Hold. Meta Knight, Blade Knight and Sword Knight packed in Meta Knight's part of the ship. Rajiim was the pilot. Donokbe, Black Kirby, and Kirby stayed in Donokbe's part of the ship. Strife decided to stay in his part of the ship with the "cargo".

"We're blastin' off, guys!" Rajiim shouted, pushing the GO button. The rockets ignited and it shot off into space.

_**Mt. Color...**_

"Well, brother, what now?" a figure asked.

"We shall take off after them. I posessed a ship," the biggest figure replied.

"We shall have our revenge. Be it this year or in twenty years, we'll have our vengeance," the third figure growled.

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	9. Sins: Crash and Burn

_**Crash and Burn (But mostly crash...)**_

_**

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AN: Yaaaaaay! I finally friggin' UPDATED! Aren't ya' so glad? Course ya' are. Well, here's the beginning of a new arc. Arc 2 of 3 in Star Chronicles. I'm SO happy. Sorta'. This Arc will be a more war-type arc than the last Arc, which was mostly fight scene after fight scene. Sorry if none ya'll like it.

* * *

**_

_**Now, to get to the story!**_

_**Roll 'em!**_

_**

* * *

**__**S3 (Super Star Ship), Cockpit...**_

Rajiim looked into the radar and realized they were several days from Dream Star. He reclined in his chair and set the ship on auto-pilot.

_Murderer..._

He jumped up.

What the... What was that voice?

_Slaughterer..._

Where was it coming from!

Silence. Golden silence. He reclined back in his chair and slowly slipped into an uneasy sleep.

_**The Knight's Quarters...**_

"'Ey, Meta Knight? Why do we travel with this motley crew?" Sword Knight asked.

"We are required to go defeat the Necrosi with them. They will need our help, that's a certainty," Meta Knight replied.

"What are the Necrosi. We don't know that much about them," Blade Knight asked.

"They practitioners of Dark Magic. They are incredibly powerful, so don't underestimate any of them," Meta Knight answered.

"What else do we need to know about them?" Blade Knight continued.

"They, like all, have an opposite. The Biokin, practitioners of Light Magic. They are powerful as well, but their numbers are dwindling," Meta Knight said.

"What for?" Sword asked.

"The Necrosi forcibly recruit anyone with the Black Spirit," Meta Knight said.

"And the Biokin?" Sword continued.

"They ask anyone and everyone to join their ranks with the White Spirit. Virtually every Star Warrior has the White Spirit, while those who don't have the Black Spirit. However, not many join," Meta Knight answered.

"But how come?" Blade asked, this time.

"The Biokin are selfless, supposedly. They have to take an oath to never harm anyone unless in self-defense. Lately, with all the wars, fewer and fewer Star Warriors wished to just heal. They wished to fight. The Biokin wouldn't allow this. So, their numbers have decreased greatly over the past few centuries," Meta Knight said, "There are only a handfuly on each world."

"What about the Etheri? I've heard many legends about them," Sword asked.

"The Etheri? They are truly a rare breed. There's approximately a handful in the whole galaxy left. They've been hunted for about a century. I only hear rumors about them now. It is a sad thing to see them go. They were great warriors and wise Star Warriors," Meta Knight said.

"How does one become an Etheri?" Sword asked, inquisitive about the Etheri.

"I have heard that an Etheri is born every few decades amongst Star Warriors on average. They are in possession of both the White and Black Spirit. When they master both forms, a new Spirit is open to them. The Ethereal Spirit. With it, they can master Elemental Magic if they couldn't already and become naturally good at fighting in any style, when it is open to them," Meta Knight answered.

"Then they are the ultimate Star Warriors?" Sword asked.

"Yes. But they are rarely born, as I said. There used to be several hundred, however. Now, there are barely a dozen, if that," Meta Knight said.

"The war ravaged them and then bounty hunters picked at their numbers," Blade continued, having picked up on that before.

"We could use their help," Sword said.

"I believe we will have their help. Two anyways," Meta Knight said.

"Who? How do you know such?" Blade asked.

"My charge and the mercenary. They possess both spirits. Strife is aware of his powers but is afraid of them. Kirby, however, is unaware of them at this point," Meta Knight said.

"We have two Etheri on our side?" Sword asked, shocked.

"Yes. But they have yet to become Etheri," Meta Knight said.

"How do you know they are Etheri?" Blade asked.

"I am one myself," Meta Knight answered.

"You're... an Etheri?" Sword asked.

"I have tapped into both Magic. I have yet to master them, however. It is difficult to do," Meta Knight answered.

A voice crept into his head.

_Failure..._

He shook his head, trying to get rid of the voice.

_You failed all your friends before. How can you hope to succeed now?_

He ignored it. Meta Knight had dealt with such whispers for centuries now. The wars left him in such a state. He had grown used to them.

"Are you alright, sire?" Sword asked.

"I am fine. We should get rest now. I have a feeling we will be landing soon," Meta Knight said.

They all climbed into their beds, Sword Knight and Blade Knight falling asleep quickly. Meta Knight, however, knew something they didn't. He saw their ship plummeting into the barren surface of Rochalam. They would find out soon enough. It would be better if they got some sleep before it happened.

_**Cargo...**_

Strife sat in his pilot seat, thinking.

_I can't be one of them. I'm a merc. I serve no one but myself. I'm only helping them because I have nothing else to do and I need to keep from getting rusty! I am no Etheri. I... it can't be right. That woman was insane. _

_Yet, I've healed myself several times and blasted my targets in desperate situations. They repelled in fear of the black energy. If I can use Light and Dark Magic, I must have both Spirits. If that's so... I am an Etheri. I... must accept it. _

_  
I never wanted this, but if the Star Sage has gifted me with this, I must use this ability._

_I will master the Ethereal spirit and become one of them. When I do, I shall have reached incredible power. With it and my allies, we'll bring down the Necrosi. _

_But... what then? Will I become a merc once more, with greater power? Or will I regroup the Etheri and eventually reunite the Star Warriors? What could I do? _

_I will help the galaxy. The Star Warriors must become reunited. If we're struck again... I don't even want to think about it._

Strife had decided. He would become an Etheri and gather them all together.

Then an image flash through his mind. It was of three figures standing on a ledge overlooking a crashed ship. Then it was gone. He tried to cling to it, but it was like trying to hold water with your bare hands. He just remembered the evil radiating off the... people. Then it was gone.

He drifted into an uneasy sleep, hoping whatever it was didn't happen.

_**Tri-Star Quarters...**_

There Kirby, Black Kirby, and Donokbe were lying down, resting.

"Kirby... what's wrong? You seem distressed," Black Kirby asked.

Kirby had been used to it. They seemed to have a mind link. Of course, it was because they were sort of the same person. They could activate the mind link when they wanted or needed to.

Kirby sighed, "The Necrosi. They're a huge threat."

"Well, of course. They've amassed huge numbers. They excel in Dark Magic," Black Kirby answered, "But that's not what's bothering you. Don't try to lie. You're bad at it."

"It's been since Strife came. I felt something activate. When Meta Knight and Strife were with me, it doubled," Kirby said.

"The king and the merc? How could they be affecting you?" Black Kirby said.

"They're Etheri," Donokbe said.

"What? How do you know?" Black Kirby asked.

Donokbe tapped his right ear.

"You eavesdropped on them?" Black Kirby asked.

"I happened to catch the word Etheri. I listened from then and found out that Strife, Meta Knight, you, Kirby, are Etheri," Donokbe said.

"Me?" Kirby asked.

"Yeah. You're the Star Warrior of the prophecy. The rest of us can only help you do what you're destined to," Donokbe said.

"What is it?" Kirby asked.

"You're supposed to wipe out the Darkness. I'm guessin' that would be the Necrosi," Donokbe answered.

_Not quite..._

Donokbe looked around briefly. He couldn't tell where it came from. It seemed to come from nowhere.

_**Multiverse...**_

The Multiverse was the place where all universe could meet freely, with the least amount of magic used. It was a door to anywhere and anywhen. And an elite group and guardians of light called Keepers had the skeleton key. Keepers were beings from various places (some were humans, some were aliens, hell, one Keeper swears he saw an Ewok walking around the base at one point) who had been killed before their time. They were given Sacred Jewels that supplied the Keeper with powers. The Keeper would then go do various tasks to keep peace throughout the universes.

It was here we see four teens, probably about 14, sitting around at a table. One of them, we recognize. It's Xana, the one who took Zold Myrannus back home, wherever that was.

"What do you think of the plan so far, Landon?" Xana asked.

"I envy you. All you had to do was revive some guy and give that Nightmare guy some Nightmare Matter and you've already got Kirby tested," Landon answered.

He wore a gray cloak and glasses. His hair was black.

"Yes. You officially suck. Actually, both of you do. I had to think up six people to send after the damned Titans," Cody said.

He had a black cloak that looked a bit shadowy. It seemed to move around on its own and the bottom seemed smoky. He had spiky blonde-brown hair.

"That was not my fault. I sent Titan there and he went PSYCHO, 'kay? It did not go to plan and you know it," Landon retorted.

"So? You still suck," Cody said.

"I'm not saying anything for or against them," Raina spoke up.

"Yeah, you only had to drag out two people. From a universe Cody referenced to you," Xana said.

"I also had to open up several worlds to Sora. And that's tough business, so nya!" Raina said.

"Did you send the creepy disembodied voices?" Cody asked Landon.

"Yeah. That was fun," Landon said, "I'll mess up the ship in just a minute."

"Man it's fun to be evil. Even if it's to be good in the long run," Cody said.

"Hell yeah," Landon said.

_**Cockpit...**_

Rajiim snapped awake, alarms blaring. The engine was faltering. The rockets had already stopped and they were being drawn towards a planet's gravity. It was Rochalam. Oh shpit. He primed the escape pods and alerted everyone. The energy escape pod formed around him and solidified, ready to shoot him out safely.

Unfortunately, the escape pods would shoot out in random directions because he was in such a rush he forgot to put in specific coordinates for everyone. Luckily, the escape pods shot out in pairs. Who would be paired up was determined beforehand in such a case as this.

_**Rochalam...**_

Eight pods shot out in four different directions. Several beasts noticed this, and a few headed after them until they couldn't see them. A few were around when they landed. Others simply ignored them altogether.

Three such beasts had planned for this to happen, as they looked upon the crashed ship.

"Wrath, Vice, the S3 has crashed. Now, we simply need to wait for them to come to us at the Slayus Forge. They will fall to us," the large figure said.

The large figure actually turned out to be half-ship. The bottom half was a ship, although it wasn't really big. About four feet long, three feet tall, at its tallest. The upper half was heavily armored. His right hand was a lance, and his left hand held what seemed to be a joystick. Several guns were attached to the ship, as well. The ship was a gunmetal color with a red stripe along the bottom. The armor he wore was mostly red with silver lower arms and helmet.

"Yes, brother Bloodbath," Vice said.

"Can't wait to get my hands on that damned Kirby," Wrath said.

"You'll get your turn with the puffball," Vice said, igniting his boots and skating (think Shadow or Wisdom Form Sora) off to his part of the Slayus Forge, the Sinner Crescent.

"I'll be the only one with a turn with the puffball," Wrath muttered, flying off to the Vexation Crescent of the Slayus Forge.

"We must only fight others, not each other. Fighting is what brought down the previous Sin Legacies, Revenge and Malice. It even brought down Annihilate, Aggression, and Treachery. We will not be brought down," Bloodbath said telepathically to Wrath and Vice.

_**Kirby and Black Kirby...**_

The creations of Nightmare and Dark Mirror were paired together. After the crash, they slowly climbed out, and started trying to get their bearings. They saw a large structure in the distance and decided to head for it, as they had the idea that the others would head there, too.

They stumbled through the many cracks in the smashed-up stalagmites and rocky landscape.

"What happened here?" Kirby wondered aloud.

"I don't know. I remember the flashing in the cockpit. I managed to glance at the computer screen. The planet's name began with an 'R' and didn't have Star. That's all I could tell," Black Kirby said.

"Rochalam. It was destroyed in the wars," Kirby said.

"And thus wasn't introduced into the Star Millennium. It and Takroar," Black Kirby finished.

"We're screwed. Rochalam is a dead planet that houses horrid mutant beasts called Shakerren," Kirby said, semi-horrified.

"The poisonous atmosphere will weaken us until we get to that structure. The Rochalam gas wears off in minutes, but in such great quantities, like a planet full of it, it can slowly eat away at you without being hindered," Black Kirby continued.

"And we can't become the Tri-Star Knight," Kirby said.

"All types of fusion are possible, though, surely," Black Kirby said.

"We've trained enough to become our ultimate copy ability at will," Kirby said.

"Let's keep that in reserve, only for use in emergency, 'kay?" Black Kirby suggested. Kirby agreed.

They entered what seemed to be a basin if you saw a top view. The only way to leave it was the entrance they came through and the split rock at the opposite end. It housed a great beast. The mighty Shakerren Lord: Cooral.

A great beast it was. The Shakerren are centaurs-like creatures. Four legs and two arms. The bottom torso was pitch black and scaly with great claws. The upper torso was scaly as well, but it faded from pitch black to gray. The right hand was crab-like, but it had three claws that could bend at three joints (two fingers and a thumb). His other hand was about half the size of the right hand, but it was threatening, nonetheless. From each finger, a long talon sprouted at the will of the Shakerren. His head was similar to a T-Rex, but it had four eyes and the end of its mouth formed what seemed like a beak.

"Oh crap... that's a big-ass Shakerren," Black Kirby said.

"I've heard of these... Shakerren Lords...," Kirby said.

"Not comforting to know," Black Kirby answered, turning into Nightmare Sword Black Kirby.

Kirby focused and became Star Shield Kirby. They grabbed hands and focused. The black and white energies of the sword and shield, respectively, burst forward and intertwined, smashing into the Shakerren Lord. It stumbled back into the ravine wall and let out a shrieking roar, causing NS Black Kirby and SS Kirby to clasp their head with their hands, trying to block the sound out.

"ARGH! MY HEAD! GET THE VOICE OUT!" Black Kirby cried.

Kirby could only scream as the voice penetrated his very mind. His very soul. And as it tried to taint him, it retreated, quickly, trying to survive from the energies within Kirby's soul. A pureness he could not touch. So he retracted his soul self and stopped his screech.

It turned on the two and charged, intending to kill the wounded warriors. But they had a different plan. With their souls having been tapped into, they managed to call out to each other on an entirely different plane. And they fused into a warrior with great power.

He looked the same as Kirby, only he had a small row of golden horns going down his back and he had a black tattered cape. He carried the Nightmare Sword and Star Shield. With his energy he formed a Warpstar beneath him. And he rode on it to fight against Cooral.

The Warpstar was currently a ball of energy, unable to form a definite shape as its make was of two Clans, instead of one. It would form two Warpstars once they became Kirby and Black Kirby again, but for now, they were the Balance Knight. And they were ready to tear through the beast before them.

The Balance Knight lifted up the sword high above his head and then swung it in front of him, as if pointing, and the "Warpstar" shot forward. He put his shield up to protect himself from any Shakerren energy beams.

Cooral was never bright. Hell, he only stayed in the ravine because he got stuck there when fighting another male for the title of Lord. He couldn't find a way out (the way Kirby and Black Kirby had entered in and the path they intended to leave through were too small for him), but he managed to survive off scraps other Shakerren brought him or the occasionally stupid beast that stumbled into his ravine.

So, he kept barraging the shield despite the fact that it was giving off a searing light. And that searing light soon became a beam which tore through his energy blast he had fired and caused the Balance Knight to actually be propelled back.

However, Shakerrens are immune to energy beams, particle beams, star beams... frankly, only physical attacks that involved no energy actually being harnessed in the making of said attack could harm one.

So, Balin (that'll be his short name... I'm LAZY, 'kay?) raised up the Nightmare Sword and shot forward, the Star Shield Beam now propelling him forward once he realized it did no good against the Shakerren Lord.

The Nightmare Sword's aim was true. It stuck the being dead in the heart, causing its death. He ripped the sword out, causing blood to spray as Cooral slunk down to the bottom of the ravine.

Balin, his work done, split back into Black Kirby and Kirby. The mind link disconnected as well as their souls. They had felt how dead the planet truly was when they had become Balin, and it damaged them moreso than Cooral did. At least Balin left behind two good presents. The Warpstar he had formed became the Archi-Star, a Warpstar with a crown symbol on it and a few other various things decorating it, symbolizing its royal links. The other became a round star shape that was mostly see-through, although it had a black tint and had white stars glowing on it. It was called Star Matter.

They both eagerly jumped on their new Warpstars and slowly drove off to the structure, listening around for their companions and making sure to avoid any more Shakerren.

They would find something quite... different from their friends at the Slayus Forge...

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	10. Sins: The Once and Future Master

_**The Once and Future Master...**_

_**

* * *

Who can guess where the title of this episode came from? Anyone? Whoever does gets the NO PRIZE, copyright of Stan Lee.**_

_**Roll 'em!

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**_

_**Rochalam, Meta Knight and Strife...**_

Meta Knight and Strife had been crawling through the rocks for about an hour, trying to find others.

"Damn whatever force decided to crash our ass on this fucking rock," Strife cursed.

"We are obviously here for a reason, Strife. You and I know this. The Spirits we possess warn of us of such things. I knew our first destination was never Dream Star," Meta Knight replied, ignoring the obscenities Strife was muttering.

"What... how do you know about my...?" Strife trailed off, seeing the Slayus Forge.

"That is our current destination. We must go there if we are to find the others," Meta Knight replied, "Oh. And you are not the only Etheri on board."

Strife muttered in an annoyed manner.

"In fact, Kirby is one as well," Meta Knight finished.

"I figured that. The kid is maybe a few decades old and he's killing monsters some Star Warriors in their prime would have trouble with," Strife retorted.

"How did you unlock your Spirits?" Meta Knight suddenly said.

"What? Is there some certain way?" Strife asked.

"You're corrupt, heavily. You're a mercenary, a killer for hire. You indulge in murder and greed. Yet you unlocked both of your Spirits. How?" Meta Knight continued.

"Long story short, I almost died, but an Etheri, who I had been hunting, saved me. She brought me back from the brink, and unlocked my White and Black Spirit. I haven't been using the powers consciously. Recently, however, I've figured out what I am. And I will become and Etheri Master," Strife said, suddenly ducking down.

Meta Knight followed suit. They had gotten to a ravine, where two huge Shakerren Lords were fighting. A dead Shakerren Lord was behind them, and there seemed to be debris of blasted rock around the arena, particularly a large hole on one end of the ravine. The two Star Warriors slowly made their way around the ravine until they saw several smaller Shakerrens, bluish-gray in color, indicating that they were female.

Strife looked pissed, while Meta Knight remained calm, formulating a plan already.

"Strife, use two sword beams on the cracks right at the bottom of that large stalagmite," Meta Knight ordered.

Strife pulled out two of the swords strapped to his back and began focusing all his energies and emotion into a center. And he let that center flow through him, giving him immense power. Finally, he channeled that center into his swords and leaped into the air, slashing downwards. Two massive sword beams erupted from the tips, slamming into the base of the rock face. It began cracking more dangerously, but the female Shakerrens had noticed him.

However, before they could attack, another sword beam shot out from Meta Knight's sword, causing the base to crumble. The giant, pillar-like stalagmite crashed on the Shakerrens, killing them. The shattered remains scattered, most of them falling into the ravine. Fortunately for the two fighting, the worst they got was a scratch or two on the arm, which was nothing.

Unfortunately for Meta Knight and Strife, the Shakerrens decided to look at what had caused the shards of the stalagmite. That's when they found their mates kinda... flat.

They roared in a fury and crawled out of the ravine. They were considerably stronger than Cooral, and smarter too.

"Ah HELL naw!" Strife shouted, clicking his swords together to make one sword with two blades on the same end.

Meta Knight glanced up and saw what he had hoped for. The full moon. He channeled its tremendous power to help fuel his transformation. His armor glowed a silvery-white color, a crown-like crystal band formed on his head, and the image of the moon appeared on his right shoulder pad.

He had become Artemis Meta Knight.

"Damn! Everyone's tapping into their potential but me!" Strife mock-complained, leaping through the air towards one of the Shakerren Lords.

Artemis Meta Knight pointed Galaxia at the other Shakerren Lord's head. An image of a bow and arrow formed and the arrow lanced from it, piercing the Shakerren Lord's thick skull, but not actually killing him. Meta Knight flew forward, his sword glowing with a radiant energy.

Meta Knight slashed away at its head, his sword clanging loudly against the beast's thick scales. It swiped a might claw at him, intending to knock him away. His cape opened and seperated into two wings, now angelic. He flew towards the hand and slashed it off. The Shakerren Lord screeched in pain.

Strife was pretty much having a blast. He always did in battle. It was a natural state to him. He'd been away from a true battle for so long, it was a euphoria now. Intoxicating enough for him to not notice that the Shakerren Lord had a boulder about to pound him into oblivion until it was hurtling towards him from the side. He tried to dodge, but his leg was smashed into a pulp, following with his scream of pain, followed by a roar of fury.

He threw his double-bladed sword towards the Shakerren Lord, and it dug into its collarbone. He was rewarded with a shriek of pain. It wasn't concentrated, so he wasn't affected. He pulled out two more swords and jumped up, using his swords still strapped to his back to help him jump. They started rotating, having been attached to a motorized pack. They provided enough momentum for him to shoot up.

He slashed into the beast's gut, getting another few shrieks of pain. He then pulled out a dagger and had his arm cocked back, ready to "fire" the dagger and finish the fight.

It turns out that's not how the Shakerrens roll (I can't believe I typed that...) as the cry of the other Shakerren rolled through the crevices, and pierced into Strife, incapacitating him long enough for the beast to swat him down, injuring him severely on the rock.

Artemis Meta Knight ended the shriek with "severe facial lacerations" as some would put it. Or, in layman's terms, he slashed the hell out of it till it shut up. And died.

Strife cried out in pain, and the world faded a little bit. But then a white light emerged from his hands, and the world started rebuilding itself again. His foot was healed enough for him to stand on. His spinal cord snapped back together and his back's cuts healed up. He stood back up and prepared about three daggers in each hand.

The Shakerren Lord roared for a challenge.

Strife snarled in reply and spun around, throwing the daggers in rapid succession, the spin giving them severely increased momentum.

Four pierced its throat, halting its roar. Two pierced its head, instantly killing it.

Strife walked over to it, ripping his double sword out and snapping them back apart and sliding them in his pack. He removed a few daggers as well. He glared down at the Shakerren Lord.

"Did NOT know who it was-" Strife started.

"Let's go, Strife. Our destination is close," Meta Knight interrupted, having returned to normal.

They reached a high peak and were astounded by their finds. They saw several lines of warriors surrounding a platform. There were several beasts there as well, but they were mostly chained. On the platform were three figures, all looking rather... ominous. Because they were rather far away, it was hard to actually see who they were.

"Disciples of Sin! Here my orders! There are eight fighters here against us! They must perish for their insolence!" Bloodbath shouted.

"WRATH! VICE! BLOODBATH!" the Disciples chanted in unison.

"How are they alive? Wrath was destroyed and so was Vice," Strife asked.

"No. Wrath, Vice, and this new Bloodbath are made of Nightmare Matter. Wrath and Vice probably reverted to that state when they were defeated until they gained enough energy to come back and prepare our demise," Meta Knight said.

"That's comforting," Strife muttered.

"Come. We must get going before sundown," Meta Knight said.

"It gets darker here?" Strife half-shouted.

"Yes. Pitch black, in fact. And they can actually see in the dark. We can't," Meta Knight replied, already half-skating down the peak.

"Shite," Strife muttered, sliding down after him, "I hate this planet."

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	11. Sins: Toy Soldiers

_**Toy Soldiers...**_

_**Sorry for the looooong wait, ya'll. I've been caught up in other stories for a while. But, hopefully, I'll complete this before the year's over. I should be able to, anyways. By the way, Sarda comes from 8-Bit Theater. Nuklear Power (dot) com, minus the spaces. **_

_**On a side note, I should (hopefully) update again real soon.**_

_**Rochalam, Rajiim and Donokbe...**_

Rajiim and Donokbe were almost within the Trayus Academy. They were on the outside, in fact, when they noticed all the soldiers gathered around the platform. Well, Donokbe heard them and Rajiim picked them up as heat signatures.

"Oh crap, we're screwed," Donokbe whispered.

"Don't be so sure. You're a Rainbow Warrior, right? I'm a Geo Storm Warrior, right? We have one big thing in common: We're soldiers. We're used to war. They're not," Rajiim said.

"They still have numbers on their side," Donokbe said.

"We still have power on our side. I have fought through numbers greater than theirs and I'm certain you have as well, having been in the same wars I have," Rajiim retorted.

"They have magic," Donokbe said.

"If I have to drag you into the fights, I swear to Sarda I will," Rajiim threatened.

"And he's-" Donokbe started.

That's when a man with a white beard in a red cloak appeared and shouted "THE WIZARD WHO DID IT!" Because this was all a pointless joke, and because of Sarda's omni-potence, no one heard him. Yay. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

"Donokbe, we have a good chance of winning. We can sneak by most of the guards and I can pick a few off from up here," Rajiim said.

"How will they not spot someone shooting at them?" Donokbe demanded.

"An Earth spell I learned. Watch," Rajiim said.

The earth around him shot up and formed what looked like another rock, but there was a small hole in it for stick the gun with a scope out. Donokbe looked amazed, then one formed around him, a hole small enough for him to look through. A platoon came marching by down the hill and Rajiim took aim. A massacre ensued. He shot three in the middle, four in the front, and one in the back, all in the span of five seconds. They all dropped, dead. An alert went out, but the platoon began killing itself.

"Very nice, dude. Very nice," Donokbe said through the hole.

"Thank you. I pride myself on my aim," Rajiim said, "now quickly, the platoon still has a few soldiers not lost to fear. We have to sneak around as soon as the earth spell drops in three, two, one."

When he said two, the rock crumbled and they shot for the nearest rock. Rajiim peeked out and shot down two of the remaining soldiers, then followed Donokbe to another rock. He shot the final three down while running before they spotted him.

"Well, that was easy," Rajiim said.

"Not quite. Your gun is going to need a few seconds to cool down and a minute or so to recharge. A few more platoons will show up in naught but a minute, which means we'll have to make a run for it... NOW!" Donokbe shouted.

Rajiim immediately ignited his rocket boots and grabbed Donokbe. They rocketed off and made it through the entrance before they saw anymore soldiers. Just as they entered the door, A few soldiers rounded the corner. They saw one of Donokbe's ears as he was pulled inward, and they knew who it was, based on the descriptions from the Sins.

"Into the Slayus Forge! The Pure Ones are in the Sinner Crescent!" one soldier shouted into his Commlink.

The soldiers accessed the door, but found it had been magna-sealed. The soldiers cursed, then started firing on the door til it collapsed inwards. By that point, Donokbe and Rajiim had disappeared down the hall. The soldiers immediately flooded in after the two "Pure Ones" in hot pursuit.

_**Sinner Crescent,..**_

Donokbe and Rajiim were puffing as they continued rushing down the hallways, looking for a sanctuary, however temporary. They heard several stomping feet a while behind them, luckily out of sight, so they jumped through the nearest door and magna-sealed it behind them. They stood there, trying to catch their breath. Donokbe stopped first and leaned his back against a wall, tired out.

"How many places do we have to run through before we find a ship and the other Star Warriors?" Donokbe asked.

"Hell... if I... know...," Rajiim replied, gasping less and less.

"You won't be running anymore, as you'll be dying fairly soon," Vice said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Oh slag this twisted piece of scrap to the Pit!" Rajiim shouted.

"Have a _Beast Wars_ moment?" Donokbe asked.

"Yeah, I'd like it if you told no one I said that," Rajiim replied, pulling out his main two Mirage Pistols.

Donokbe pulled out his sword, the Necrotix Jewel glowing black with power. Vice smirked after spotting it, then pulled out Sinner. A second later, the fight began.

Vice shot for Rajiim and the two blasted at each other with rapid shots and extreme precision. Donokbe's sword was thrown through the crossfire and slashed into Vice's leg. He took a split-second to shoot at Donokbe, then resumed the dog-fight with Rajiim.

Donokbe dodged the shots with tremendous effort, then he twirled the sword and stabbed it into the ground, creating a seal. The walls were consumed by black energy, ensuring that no one interfered in the fight and that no one could escape. With that done, he began putting all his focus into the sword, specifically, the jewel.

Vice and Rajiim pumped out energy, hoping to utterly kill the other. Shots narrowly missed each other, their agility their only saviors. Back and forth, back and forth, it went on. Rajiim skated under three shots in a row and fired off a massive charged shot. Vice fired a ray that dispersed the shot. Rajiim leapt over his head and fired off several more shots that tore up the ground around Vice, but the Sin himself was unharmed, due to one of his three remaining one-use shields. Two now.

In the meantime, Donokbe had powered up the Necrotix's magic up to about 95 percent.

Vice and Rajiim then began glowing, Rajiim glowing green while Vice was red. Shots were fired, but not as often.

96 percent.

Then they unleashed their attack. They both had shot out an enormous beam, the color they had been glowing.

97 percent.

The two entities, ultimately the same being, struggled for dominance. The seperate beams continuosly grew longer and shorter, but they never reached the other.

98 percent.

"You Nightmare Matter POS! I'll win! Why don't you just surrender?!" Rajiim demanded.

"Demands to surrender? When has that ever worked?" Vice asked in a sarcastic tone.

99 percent.

"Banter never works in a fight regardless, you retards!" Donokbe shouted out to the fighters.

Their concentration went for a second, but they regained it quickly and went back to keeping up the beam.

100 percent. We have Fusion.

Donokbe shot out a black beam that knocked Vice backwards and drew Rajiim into him, creating a new fusion. He was ethereal in form. In fact, it was hard to say if he even had a form.

"We are Mirage. And we wish you dead," the fusion, Mirage, deadpanned.

Vice growled and fired off a grenade. Mirage floated through it, unharmed. He actually benefited from it. He turned into a fireball and streaked towards Vice, who barely managed to get out of the way of the first streak, but failed on the second. He was set ablaze and skated about, trying to escape, but he was blocked by the spell. Mirage turned back into his ethereal form, but then reformed into steel. Specifically, a sword of sorts.

Vice managed to get enough sense to drop down an ice bomb, which turned his legs to ice. The fire melted the ice and was in turn put out by the water. He was, to his dismay, distracted long enough to get an arm sliced off by Mirage. It turned into Nightmare Matter, which was immediately blasted by fire from Mirage.

"You Dark Matter freaks don't care much for fire, do you?" Mirage asked.

"Didn't you already say that banter does NOT work?" Vice shot back, taking a machine gun out and attaching it to where his shoulder was. It would have to do for now.

He unleashed a barrage of lasers that passed straight through the ethereal entity. Vice then was struck by an idea. Clearly nothing could affect Mirage, except possibly something to force him back to solidity.

Vice dropped another ice bomb, which engulfed Mirage in ice. Vice then shattered all the ice with a sonic grenade. Mirage, however, seeped out of the cracked ice and reformed.

"We are a gaseous entity, Dark Matter. Not a liquified entity, you dolt," Mirage snapped.

"Oh, excuse me for getting my elements wrong. Ahhh... All entities, sold, liquid, gaseous, or plasma are specifically affected by one of four elements: fire, ice, electricity, or water. Now I know how to beat you," Vice said.

"We've dropped the prison soap, now," Mirage muttered.

"Verily," Vice chuckled, whipping out a rifle. (Sages that sounded wrong. Jus-just keep your minds out of the gutter, is all I'm sayin'.)

Mirage shot about, trying to dodge the lightning bolts being fired from the rifle. Then one hit him and he was put in a solid form, one which Vice shot down. He kept on shooting with both guns, trying to finally obliterate the fuzor.

That's when Balin burst through the seal and through the wall. He fired a large beam from his Star Shield, which knocked Vice back. Mirage then swirled around him faster and faster until Vice began losing air, holding him down.

"Throw us some fire!" Mirage shouted.

"Why?" Balin asked.

"JUST DO IT!" Mirage shouted in retaliation.

Balin shrugged, scraped his blade against a stone, creating sparks. He used energy to enhance the sparks into a roaring flame, then propelled the fire into Mirage with more energy.

Suddenly, Vice was surrounded by a mini-tornado of fire. He screamed. The fire began closing in. And he **_screamed_**.

Vice was consumed by flames, and then he was in oblivion. Mirage retreated and returned to his normal gaseous form.

Then the two fuzors transformed back into their regular forms. The four Star Warriors, incredibly tired, walked off to the hallway.

Kirby, Black Kirby, Donokbe, and Rajiim creeped down the halls in search of the others, but so far, they had found nothing.

That changed quickly. And not necessarily for the better.

Rajiim looked at some heiroglyphics on the walls and began reading them out loud.

**The Immorals will gather at the Wasteland. With the help of their Bretheren, the Dark Ones, they will create a Nightmare from a Dream. The Etheri, The Soldier, and The Chariot shall all sire Sins. The Sins shall gather at the hands of the Stars. The Stars and Sins shall war at the Wasteland. If the Nightmare turns on its fellows, the Stars shall be nothing but dust. But if the Nightmare holds fast, the Sins shall be naught but a memory.**

Rajiim, Donokbe, and Kirby looked at Black Kirby.

"What?" Black Kirby asked.

"You're the Nightmare, BK. If you defect to your creators, we're dead," Donokbe said.

"I say we kill him now. He's a creature of the Sins! ...Of the Necrosi!" Rajiim said.

"No. You can't. If you do, we will lose. He is like my brother," Kirby protested, rushing in front of Black Kirby.

Rajiim looked at the pair angrily, but then he cooled and just looked at them coldly.

"If he turns traitor, he's dead," Rajiim hissed.

_**Slaughterer Crescent...**_

Blade Knight and Sword Knight rushed through the halls, clearly tired and weakened.

"C'mon Blade! He's down here! We'll kill 'im together!" Sword urged.

The Knights hurried their pace. Soldiers rushed towards them, guns blazing. The Knights jumped up, kicked off each other, kicked off the wall, landed behind two soldiers and in front of three more each. A spin slice later, they had one soldier left. Blade Knight threw his sword into the large soldiers chest, then Sword leapt up and ripped the sword out, stabbing the soldier again with his own blade. The soldier fell, dead, as Sword leapt off.

The Knights were breathing heavy as they stopped for a moment. Their breath spiked as daggers pierced their torsoes.

"You should always be aware of your surroundings, you pathetic weakling," Wrath said, walking through the door.

But the trend was catchy, as Meta Knight and Strife burst through another door.

"Strife, get Wrath, I must attend to Sword Knight and Blade Knight!" Meta Knight ordered.

"Yes sir!" Strife replied, shooting towards Wrath.

Meta Knight ran over to Blade Knight and Sword Knight, currently dying. With his grief, he turned into Artemis Meta Knight once more.

"Sword Knight, Blade Knight! Get up, now! We must aid Strife!" Meta Knight ordered.

"I'm sorry sir… But we can't… I am disgraced…," Sword Knight said, coughing up blood.

Blade Knight briefly moved, a pathetic attempt to get up. Meta Knight's eyes flashed blue. Galaxia glowed silver and Meta Knight held it up. The energy poured into Blade Knight and Sword Knight and their wounds began sealing up. The daggers slid out of their bodies and crumbled.

With all the energy, the Knights transformed. They both bore a sun pendant and their armor was gold. They were now the Apollo Knights. And they were ready to stand by their charge's side for all of eternity.

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	12. Sins: Pride of the Lion

_**Pride of the Lion...

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**_

_**This title seems twisty-weirdy-upside-downy, doesn't it? Well, it won't for long.**_

_**Are you psychic, Casiana1? I can always count on you to review within minutes to hours of updating. Oh... no, I hadn't given up on it, just couldn't focus on it for some time. I'll try to update more often. Good news! The Sin arc is almost over! Only this chapter and one or two more, maybe!

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**_

_**Graveyard, Shadow Walker Dimension...**_

A young African-American boy with a young Caucasian adult walked down to a grave they had been visiting for a while. A grave that caused the pre-teen to cry every time he saw it. It was the grave of his adopted father. He finally managed to read the tombstone without tears welling up.

**Nik Gatrite**

**1979-2005**

**Loving Father**

**Caring Brother**

**Gone, but not Forgotten**

The young adult beside him smiled as he saw his adopted brother's strength. Logan Vinyette, the young boy, knew how true the tombstone read. He knew to the extent that his father loved him and his brother. He never cared for the rest of the world, for he felt the rest of the world never cared for him. Logan felt, in Nik's mind, he saved Leon and Logan. He succeeded in his ultimate goal: he purged the darkness. He killed himself to do it, but he succeeded. Moreover, Logan could never be prouder to have had him as a father.

"Leon, do you think he's smiling down on us?" Logan asked, in little more than a whisper.

"I know he is," Leon said.

Two new voices rang out from the graveyard.

"Good afternoon, heroes," they said.

"What? Go away," Leon said, annoyed.

"Ah, ah, aaaah... No, I don't think we will. Because, you see, we have a mission. And to complete our mission, we need you two. You can get Karen and Nik back," the boy said.

Logan pulled out his bo-staff with the bayonet attached to it. It's part of the origin of his vigilante name: Bayonette.

"DON'T you DARE taunt us with BS like THAT!" he snarled.

"Keepers have no reason to taunt you. Not much fun, anyways," the girl said.

"SHUT UP!" Leon said.

"You see, we need both of you. We swear, on pain of death, that you'll receive Nik and Karen," the girl replied.

"BULL!" Logan, now Bayonette, shouted.

"Listen. We need you two, yesterday. Now, you must agree to this, fulfill your end of the deal, and we'll fulfill ours," the girl said, calmly.

"Why should we listen to you?" Leon asked.

"Because of this," the boy said, pulling out a jewel.

A brief flash later, he had a long, silver, flowing cloak, his black hair spiked up. The girl had a white robe, showing her blue hair.

"We are Keepers, servants of a being known as Star Sage. We need you two to fight some people for us," the boy continued.

"Fine. We'll help you," Leon relented, sighing.

"What!?" Bayonette demanded.

"Listen, we need to train anyways. Let's just do this; we might actually get Nik and Karen back. If it's a false lead, we'll kill these two. If not, we'll have a joyous time. Let's do it," Leon argued.

"Okay," Logan agreed, his head down.

"Good, now, Bayonette, you get to fight a 14 year old with ghost powers. His name is Danny Fenton. He goes by the alias Danny Phantom," the boy said, zapping off with him.

"Leon, aka Leo Knight, your opponents are several Star Warriors, led by Meta Knight and Kirby," the girl said, shooting off with the adult.

* * *

_**(It's not so twisty-weirdy-upside-downy, now is it?)

* * *

**_

_**Slaughterer Crescent...**_

With the Apollo Knights around him, Meta Knight was ready for anything. Strife was still at it, fighting Wrath with all his might and power. Their swords clinging and clanging echoed throughout the room.

The Knights ran towards Wrath, swords raised, ready to kill. Strife, however, deadlocked with Wrath and shouted at them.

"This is my fight! GO! Kill the third Sin! THIS FAKER IS MINE!" Strife shouted, knocking back Wrath long enough to get his bearings.

Sword and Blade were about to charge in, regardless, but Meta Knight stopped them.

"We must honor his wishes. We would only interfere, regardless, come!" he ordered.

As they left, Strife smirked. He knew he couldn't possibly be enough to defeat Wrath. But he would damn well try! He focused his energies and poured them into his blade and swung as hard as he could, while Wrath did the same. With energy crackling off them, they launched into a fury of slashes, slices, dices, and hacks, all in an attempt to gut the other.

Strife versus Wrath.

Etheri versus Sin.

Sun's Flame versus Vexxor.

It would all be over soon.

Energy swirled around Strife, black and white. Purple and green energies surrounded Wrath. They continued their duel, slashing away. Strife came spinning towards Wrath looking like a spike ball, almost. Wrath twirled around briefly and threw the Vexxor straight into the "spike ball". The momentum was interrupted and thus Strife went spiralling in the opposite direction he intended, crashing instead several yards away from Wrath.

The Sin walked slowly over to his counterpart.

"You know, you could've had so much more power if you had just chosen to become a host for me again. But, instead, you shall die," Wrath mocked.

"I didn't know that was an option," Strife spat.

"Oh yes you knew about re-hosting," Wrath snapped.

"Exactly," Strife said, disappearing.

"Wha-"

**WHAM!**

Wrath went skidding across the ground, and Strife reappeared in front of him, gray energy clearing off of him. Instead, black energy formed around his hands.

"What is this trickery... You are no Etheri! I was part of you! There's NO-" Wrath roared, half in anger, half in fear.

He was interrupted, as you can tell, by a blast from point blank range. Several more blasts followed, the dust consuming him.

"Eh. If he's alive, and I know he is, then he won't be in the dust cloud. I've seen enough DBZ to know that..." Strife muttered.

He was wrong, actually. Wrath came flying through the dust cloud, Vexxor swinging. Strife was ready enough to block it with a shield of white energy.

"Eat it, bitch," Strife laughed, forcing out a wave of black energy that knocked Wrath into the wall.

He slid down, nearly unconscious.

"You didn't know about my Ethereal abilities because I wouldn't let you. I had locked those memories away for some time. And because I'd locked the memories away, the abilities were unknown to you. Thus, you don't have them," Strife said, raising up his sword, now swirling with black energy.

He was in for a surprise.

Wrath exploded with black energy, knocking Strife into the opposite wall.

"I don't have the White Spirit, but I'm borne of the Black Spirit, you fool!" Wrath roared.

Strife did several odd hand gestures, then began sweeping his hand in front of him, as if on a piano. An energy, like a sword, shot unseen towards Wrath, who narrowly dodged it. Strife continued playing, energy leaping up from the "board", then sweeping his hand across it, energy flying from it. Wrath narrowly dodged the blasts. Strife quickened his pace. Wrath was continually finding it harder to dodge. Finally, he was sliced through the chest.

He fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. Strife walked over to him, half-exhausted.

"Now, listen up. I know for a fact you're going to die soon. You know you're going to die soon. So tell me, Wrath. Where are the Necrosi? You obviously know about them," Strife said.

"Yeah? Well... why... tell you? ...You said it... yourself... I'm gonna'... die- AGGG!" Wrath screamed, a sword being jammed into his stomach.

"That's why. Now, why did you ambush us? Who put you up to it?" Strife demanded.

"We did! It was perf... ect. Bloodbath... arranged for your... ship to crash. When... you were all... separated... you'd be easy... to kill," Wrath said, clearly exhausted.

"Where are the Necrosi?" Strife interrogated.

"Waiting for you... should you live... Bloodba..." Wrath said, finally coughing up more blood and passing into oblivion.

"Bastard. Doesn't even bother to live long enough to tell me what the hell is about to happen," Strife muttered.

He took the Vexxor and slammed it against his own sword, Sun's Flame. The Vexxor shattered into pieces, then faded away. Strife snorted as Wrath dispersed as well, then put Sun's Flame into its hilt, and started walking the path his allies took.

_**Slayus Core...**_

There Bloodbath hovered, waiting. The second he saw the Star Warriors coming, he pressed a button on the console nearby. A cage rose up and unlocked. The being inside walked out.

He was about 6' 4", with yellow armor, resembling a lion's, including the helmet. It was Leo Knight. A manipulator of electricity and fire. A dual wielder of daggers and whips.

"Slave, go slow down the Star Warriors!" Bloodbath ordered.

Leon had dealt with such orders for weeks now. And he had had enough.

"NO! I have dealt with your demeaning evil for weeks! I know that the Keepers ordered me to fight the Star Warriors, but I was never one to follow authority!" Leo Knight shouted, changing.

He turned into a lion with armor, and leapt onto Bloodbath. He ripped apart machinery with his claws, while Bloodbath was trying to get oriented, before he crashed. The Sin roared in anger and pain. Finally, he managed to turn his lance about and stabbed into Leo Knight. The beast leapt off the mini-ship, then began glowing red. He roared and fire shot forth in a tornado-like way.

Bloodbath was sent spiraling into a wall, as Leo changed back into human form. He pulled out his two daggers, and rushed forward towards Bloodbath.

That's when Kirby & Crew showed up. They had no idea what was going on, so for the moment being, they stood there, confused.

However, the Sin did not plan on his "slave" attacking back. So, he did what any villain would do when confronted with an obviously hopeless situation. He fled. A door opened up in the area and he flew into it, roaring angrily.

"YOU STAR WARRIORS WILL DIE WHEN YOU GET TO DREAM STAR! AND I SHALL BE THE ONE WHO MURDERS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!" he yelled.

Leo Knight rushed after him, but ran through a portal that appeared right in front of him.

_**Multiverse…**_

"Damn it Leon! It was a simple mission! Fight the Star Warriors, but noooooo! You go and fight the WRONG PERSON… ON PURPOSE! WHY?" Xana demanded.

She was much older, now, for those of you who cared. She resembled Ivy Valentine (Soul Calibur 2) to an incredible degree, except for the blue hair and less revealing clothes.

"I was sick and tired of him treating me like dirt. I had enough. I wanted to go home to take care of Logan, LIKE I SHOULD HAVE DONE!" Leon shouted.

"He's fine. Karen's fine, too. Your sister, Karen, will get to go home with you. Logan didn't screw up, so Karen will get to go home," Xana said.

"And what of Nik? Will he get to come home as well?" Leon demanded.

"Not yet. However, we will create a new Darkagon for the next series of assignments when he finishes his series. We will return him within a year," Xana said.

Leon was surrounded by light, and he heard a familiar voice as he was sent home.

"Hey, baby brother."

_**Slayus Core…**_

Artemis Meta Knight had charged forward, about to attack when both Leo Knight and Bloodbath disappeared from sight.

He slowed down and the Apollo Knight stopped beside him.

"I guess we'll need to get out of here, now that the Sins have been taken care of. But how?" Black Kirby said.

Strife wheeled in on a black jet cycle, "Ha ha! I always loved these things!"

The Star Warriors noticed that the S3 was hovering behind the jet cycle.

"I found that the Sins had stolen our ship. So I stole it back. With interest," Strife said, smirking.

"He's right, let's go," Donokbe said.

"Not before we send this place to hell!" Black Kirby said.

"We'll destroy the facility using the self-destruct sequence. It'll be activated… now," Rajiim said.

**Self destruct sequence, activated. 2 Minutes until destruction occurs. Have a nice day.**

"GET IN THE SHIP AND LET'S MOVE OUT!" Strife shouted, taking off in the jet cycle.

The Star Warriors rushed into the S3 and took off, trying desperately to beat the clock.

_**Rochalam, Outer Surface…**_

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

The base was ripped to shreds as the Star Warriors left the atmosphere. Each one of them felt relieved to be off that planet.

"Now, we head for Dream Star," Strife said, "Wrath told me the Necrosi were set up there. We know it for sure now, at least."

Rajiim set in the coordinates, and they shot off for Dream Star.

**BADUM! BADUM! BADUM!**


	13. Tomb: Arrival

_**Arrival

* * *

**_

_**I've been busy, people, sorry. For some bizarre reason, this doesn't seem to be at the top of my priority list. Bah. I'll try to finish it before the year ends. I should be able to do that, right? Well, celebrate people! This is the LAST ARC. Then this story is DONE. **_

_**If anyone wondered, Danny was mentioned because I wrote another story called Phantasmic Barrage that featured that scene. Star Chronicles is in a series that isn't quite a series. It's on my profile, if anyone wants to read those stories. Danny Phantom, Kingdom Hearts, and Teen Titans are all there. Recently, I put a Zelda story.**_

_**I can't stand how short this chapter is. Bah. At least it's over 1000 words.

* * *

**_

_**S3, Cockpit...

* * *

**_

"Alright, we've got a trail to lock onto from our good friend, Bloodbath. He's headed for Dream Star, as I expected," Rajiim said into the intercom.

"_Awesome," _Donokbe replied.

"_How soon will we be there?"_ Meta Knight asked.

"Approximately 5 minutes. I'll focus on driving this tank. Talk amongst yourselves," Rajiim ordered.

He flipped off the intercom and began thinking out loud.

"So now we go to fight against the Necrosi and the dreaded one, Dakron Shai. With Lithrel Sunai's help, we may just have a chance," Rajiim muttered.

_**

* * *

Jet Cycle...

* * *

**_

It was here that Strife sat, meditating. He was mentally training himself for the Ethereal Spirit to come to bear. It had to come out soon. Surely it would...

_Hello, Strife._

_Hello, Ber'l._

Strife had come to form another conscience within himself. It was a common Etheri practice. The Etheri would tap into his or her Ethereal Spirit for a moment, and form what he or she grasps into a conscience which teaches them how to use their Ethereal abilities. Some later give the conscience a corporeal form, usually as a pet, which they call a familiar.

_Have you determined your weapon of choice?_

_Yeah. I'll take the Merlin. Silver._

Strife, as an Etheri, needed an Etheri weapon. Sun's Flame and Cloud's Patience, while good swords, were not able to utilize his Etheri abilities. He required a special Gauntlet, one that could use his Ethereal Spirit as a weapon. And so he would make one. He had nearly all the parts right in the cargo room. In fact, he had already assembled it. Everything except place a simple crystal in it.

The classification is simple. Jet gives more speed to the wielder. Goliath gives strength to the wielder. Merlin expands the mind and consciousness.

Strife, as a mercenary, always values open-mindedness and intellect. A stupid mercenary will get nowhere fast. A smary merc can have almost no strength or speed and still obtain hundreds of bounties. The silver was just the color of the Gauntlet's energy, except for the outline. The color used to reflect rank, but in the days of the scattered Etheri, it was usually the color of the Etheri's eyes.

_Very good. Place the crystal orb in the palm slot. _

Strife obeyed the voice and slipped the Gauntlet on.

_Focus all your energies into the Gauntlet and let your Spirit flow into it._

Strife sat in his meditative pose and closed his eyes. A gray light flickered about the Gauntlet. The light turned white and a small shield formed. Strife smirked.

_Very good indeed, Strife. _

_So, when do I qualify as a Knight?_

_You already are. However, if you want to train under a Master to obtain that rank, you might wanna' take a look at Kirby._

Strife had no way to reply to this.

_**

* * *

Tri-Star Quarters...

* * *

**_

"What do you think about Strife?" Donokbe asked.

"I say he's... odd," Black Kirby said.

"He's full of conflict," Kirby replied.

Kirby had been sleeping for the passed few hours, in conversation with Menai, as he called him. It explained why he was an Etheri Master. It had taken him so long to speak because he was always learning new ways to fight and use the Ethereal Spirit. However, he had never been able to construct a Gauntlet as he had no parts. Menai never instructed him to get one. A Gauntlet wasn't necessary for Kirby. He was a prodigy.

"Why do you say that?" Donokbe asked.

"You can't tell?" Kirby asked.

"No. No I can't. Ethereal freak," Donokbe muttered.

Kirby snorted, yawned, and went back to sleep. Black Kirby soon followed suit. Donokbe, bored, decided to get some sleep as well.

_**

* * *

Knight's Quarters...

* * *

**_

"'Ey Meta Knight?" Sword Knight asked.

"Yes?" Meta Knight asked.

"'Ow come you been protectin' Kirby wit your life? What's 'e s'posed to be?" Sword Knight asked.

"The Ethereal Prodigy. It's easy to tell. His demeanor. His power is impossible to tell. That's why I protect him," Meta Knight answered.

"The Ethereal Prodigy? Is that some sorta' prophecy?" Blade Knight asked.

"Only fools believe in prophecies. Kirby was not prophecied. He is merely powerful. Incredible powerful. He has taken down Nightmare and Dark Mirror, two of the most powerful beings in existence. That's why I protect him. He must survive, and he must defeat this Dakron Shai at any cost," Meta Knight answered.

_**

* * *

Dream Star...

* * *

**_

The ship came hurtling it.

Faster.

Faster.

It was NOT slowing down.

It crashed into a small building with a loud BOOM.

"DAMN IT RAJIIM, COULD YOU TAKE A COURSE ON HOW TO LAND RIGHT, DAMN IT!"

"SCREW YOU, STRIFE!"

The galaxy is doomed.

_**

* * *

Unknown…

* * *

**_

A small room was briefly lit up as the doors opened as what was obviously a soldier ran in. Darkness fell over it again when the doors shut. There was but a small bit of light.

"Sir, the Star Warriors have crashed," a soldier reported.

"Where?" the silhouette demanded.

"Somewhere in the Zyan District. Sector 43,22, according to the report," the soldier answered.

"Good. I will send out the orders so that the others will converge on their position," the silhouette said, smoothly.

Chills ran up and down the soldier's spine.

"What about me, sir?" the soldier asked, his voice trembling.

"I'm hungry," the silhouette crooned.

The soldier turned around and started racing for the door. Too slow. Metal was crunched and blood was spilled.

Munching was heard by the sole living occupant.

**TOMB**


	14. Tomb: A Quick Exercise

_**A Quick Exercise

* * *

**_

_**I'll have at least one more story within this particular AU. Oh, and Tiff and Tuff are Fumu and Bun. I'll try to fix it. One query: Which is which? If Fumu the girl or boy and the same for Bun. I can't remember... I only saw the Anime, which sucks, alright? Just like with One Piece, it was mangled (probably to a horrid extent).**_

_**Okay, NM, what would be the proper word(s) if 'whose in a grave' isn't? And why do you continue to read a story you don't like? It's rather senseless, really.**_

_**I must admit, I'm not as happy with my chapters as I used to be as of late. Although I liked the ending of last chapter. I'm odd that way.

* * *

**_

**_I explain Kirby's personality as a child being forced to grow up really fast. It's been fun and games for a while, but now he's been put in mortal danger on multiple occasions._**

**_

* * *

_**

_**Dream Star, Zyan District, Sector 43,22...

* * *

**_

The Star Warriors climbed slowly out of the junked ship.

"Good job, Rajiim. Should kill you now or later?" Strife growled.

_'Calm yourself, Strife,'_ Ber'l chided.

Rajiim ignored him and pulled out a small device. A holographic map popped up and a small red arrow blinked in a northward direction. Rajiim walked off in the direction of the arrow.

"Where are _you_ going?" Strife demanded.

"To Dakron Shai. There's a large Necrosi reading in the direction I'm heading. Gotta' be him," Rajiim answered.

_**

* * *

Unknown...

* * *

**_

The silhouette chuckled darkly, then activated the computer's communication function. A small light flickered at the bottom of the screen, but nothing else indicated it was on.

"Your orders, sir?" a voice asked from the other end.

"Converge on the reported site. Attack ruthlessly. And, general?" the silhouette asked.

"Yes sir?" the general asked.

"Send weaker soldiers to report. You'll need your stronger ones for battles," the silhouette growled.

The general gulped audibly, "Yes sir."

The silhouette cut off the computer and began pacing.

_**

* * *

Zyan District...

* * *

**_

"Stop guys, listen. Can you hear it?" Strife asked in a whisper.

"Hear what? Okay, that's coming from _me_," Donokbe demanded, indicating his enormous ears, each over his width, giving him the appearance of a watch.

"I hear it, too," Kirby assured the group.

"It is the sound of Black Spirits in use," Meta Knight said.

"Necrosi SCUM!" Rajiim roared, pulling out a large gun.

"When'd he get that?" Black Kirby asked Kirby.

"No idea. Let's not ask the crazy man with the big gun, though, 'kay?" Kirby replied.

"Yeeeeah," Black Kirby muttered.

Rajiim looked around, wildly, for some Necrosi to fry. He would get his wish real quick. The Necrosi burst in through walls and other areas, blasting away with the Black Spirit each one of the retches possessed.

JINNNNNNNNNNNN.

The gun glowed brightly and started vibrating violently in Rajiim's hands.

Meta Knight unsheathed Galaxia and sliced through several of the Necrosi, sending waves of Black Spirit everywhere, knocking rows of the evil ones back. Sword Knight and Blade Knight joined the fray as well, but were less effective, understandably.

Strife, rather than use his Gauntlet, pulled out Sun's Flame and Cloud's Patience, then went on a rampage. Donokbe pulled out his Rein Sword, which glowed black with the Black Spirit, in reaction to the Necrosi Jewel contained in the sword. Fortunately for him, the Necrosi Jewel absorbed most of the Necrotix (Black Spirit Energy) thrown at him.

Kirby and Black Kirby had absorbed a few Necrosi soldiers, along with staves, and transformed into Umbra Staves versions of themselves. They stood back-to-back and twirled their staves, sending off waves of black energy, some of which would slice through the Necrosi.

YINNNNNNNNNNNN.

"GET BEHIND ME!" Rajiim ordered.

The Star Warriors readily complied, with little difficulty.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The gun tore through the legions, incinerating half their number. The Star Warriors looked at the scattered Necrosi remnants and smirked.

"Strife?" Rajiim asked.

"Sure thing," Strife answered.

He activated his Gauntlet and pressed the jewel. Moments later, they heard the Warp Star Strife had stolen come jetting for them. He jumped on the Myst Cycle and zipped around the field, blasting at the survivors with deadly accuracy.

"SAVE ONE!" Rajiim ordered.

Strife glanced at him, nodded, and picked up one, who was cowering in fear. He returned to the group and dropped the soldier. Rajiim slammed the soldier into the wall.

"WHO SENT YOU!?" Rajiim demanded.

"Dakron!" the soldier screeched.

"Why!?" Rajiim shouted.

"I dunno! Something about Rayders in the Zyan District!" the soldier screamed.

Rajiim sneered, held up his basic pistol, a Xigbar, and shot through the soldier's chest, spraying blood everywhere. Black Kirby shouted in anger, but Kirby actually kicked him.

"He was a prisoner! You never kill your prisoners!" Kirby shouted.

"He was a NECROSI. He might've been the one who killed my parents," Rajiim shouted back.

Kirby kicked him down again, "This is not about you! This is about the galaxy! Don't succumb to the same Darkness the Necrosi fight alongside! I feel it coming off you! You're more like them every day!"

This time Rajiim had Kirby in the air and slammed him into the wall.

"DON'T YOU EVER COMPARE ME TO THEM AGAIN YOU BASTARD!"

"THEN CALM YOUR ANGER! DON'T LET IT CONSUME YOU LIKE IT DOES THE NECROSI!"

Rajiim let Kirby fall to the ground, turned around, and continued in the direction he had gone before, in pursuit of whatever the arrow pointed him to.

_**

* * *

The Realm of Dakron Shai...

* * *

**_

The infamous silhouette chuckled darkly as he watched what had occurred. Already the seeds of dissent had been planted, and he had done it unintentionally! These Star Warriors may be the easiest target yet!

"Sire, the convergence failed. What should we do?" the general asked, on the communications line.

"Do nothing but watch the events unfold for now. In the meantime, send me one of the Necrosi women. I'm in the mood for... a bit of entertainment before a light snack," Dakron Shai ordered.

"Y-yes sire," the general agreed, looking sicker by the minute.

Dakron cut off the line and looked about in the darkness. Such is the good life of a sick fuck like himself.

* * *

**TOMB

* * *

**


	15. Tomb: Rayders

_**Rayders**_

_**Casiana1, did you read the last chapter? I ask because I only know that people read it if they review it. I don't expect a chapterly review, but I was just wondering. Sorry for not updating. I had a crisis of faith in this story.**_

_**Thanks, Anon, I wondered if NM was serious or just being a troll as usual. As for the rhyme scheme, I was just bored, so I put down something off the top of my head. It gets the point across, which is really all I want. I re-read the latest chapter and felt it a bit rushed... did it appear that way to anyone else? Trolling/flaming doesn't help. Oh, and NM, I know how 'Raiders' is actually spelled.**_

_**I felt inspiration for this story, so I decided to post this chapter. I may actually finish it myself, but I can't be sure.**_

S-C _**denotes a scene break, within the same scene. As in, it goes from Strife's part in the Rayder Base to Kirby's part in the Rayder Base, all in the same room.**_

_**Zyan District...**_

Strife was riding gently along in his Myst Cycle, tugging along a large sled which the others were currently sitting in.

"Rajiim, you must learn to calm yourself. If you do not do so, you will be nearly useless in battle. We will be forced to take action if you keep it up," Kirby said.

"Since when are you the leader of the group?" Rajiim demanded.

"He's the most powerful of us all. Kirby is also one of the wisest. That is why he's the leader," Meta Knight answered.

"I didn't ask you," Rajiim snapped.

"Kirby is a true leader in the fact that he doesn't know why he's the leader. I do know why, that's why I answered," Meta Knight replied, coolly.

"Fulla sh-"

"Shut up back there! It's hard enough driving without you morons bickering!" Strife shouted at them.

"We need help before attacking Dakron Shai. We need schematics of the base. We need soldiers to help us out," Meta Knight said.

"Exactly where can we get help? This place is screwed over," Rajiim asked.

"That Necrosi soldier mentioned someone called the Rayders. Maybe we could find them," Donokbe replied.

"Why should we assume they would help us?" Sword Knight asked.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend, remember that?" Blade Knight replied.

"So... where are the Rayders... More specifically, who are they?" Strife yelled to the group.

That's when the Star Warrior in the brown cloak leap down on the sled. He was humanoid, like Rajiim, like all Dream Clanners.

"The Rayders are a resistance force. And I'm their leader, Lithrel. I'll take you to our base. Who are you?" he said.

_**Rayder's Underground...**_

"This is the Rayder Base. Our soldiers are in the West Wing. Our counsel and commanders are in the East Wing. Our Etheri and scientists are in the North Wing. If you would like to familiarize yourself with either, go to the appropiate wing. Now excuse me, I need to check the scientist's disection progress of the latest bit of stolen Necrosi tech," Lithrel said, walking off down the east hall.

"Did he say Etheri?" Strife asked.

"Yeah. Others like us. C'mon," Kirby said.

With that, Meta Knight, Strife, and Kirby walked down the north hall.

"While Etheri are all well and good, the soldiers are the building blocks of a good army. I say West Wing," Blade Knight said.

Donokbe, Blade Knight, and Sword Knight walked down the east hall.

"Hmmm... The commanders are likely to know what happened, what's going on now, and what the plan is for the future," Rajiim muttered to himself, walking down the north hall.

_**East Wing...**_

"Hello, fellow Etheri, how may I serve you?" a young female Star Warrior asked.

She wore light gray armor and a white belt which had a silver tube strapped to it.

"Who are you?" Strife asked.

"I am Kae, one of the Drakes, servants of the Etheri," the girl, Kae, answered.

"When were Drakes established?" Meta Knight asked.

"You should know. You had two with you," Kae replied, turning around, "Now, where would you like to go?"

"I already have a Gauge Gauntlet. However, I would like to get proper Etheri training. Where are the Etheri masters?" Strife asked.

"Right this way."

_**West Wing...**_

"Hello sirs! Who are you and what is your reason for coming here?" a young cadet demanded.

He wore basic armor and held a spear in one hand, while keeping his other hand at his side.

"I am Blade Knight and this is Sword Knight. We're new here. Sun Clanners, the both of us. We came to check out the soldiers," Blade Knight answered.

"I hope you will be pleased, _sir!_" the cadet shouted as the doors to the side of him opened.

"I'm sure we will if all the soldiers are as determined and focused as you," Sword Knight commented.

Donokbe jogged towards the opening, "I'm with them!"

The cadet nodded, stepping away from the door.

The walked in to see a large room filled with several hundred soldiers. If they were humans, it wouldn't have cut it, but as they were, it was perfectly spaced. Most had basic armor, like the cadet. A few had the expertise to weld better armor, but most had to do without. More had swords than better armor, but there were still few swords in comparison to the number of spears.

Sword Knight and Blade Knight walked in one direction, while Donokbe headed in another.

"Hey there. I'm Geth. You new recruits? You don't look like the usual Dream Clanner," one of the largest soldiers, Geth, asked.

"Sword Knight. He's Blade Knight. We're Sun Clanners. We're with a few Etheri, a Dream Clanner, and a Nightmare Clanner," Sword Knight answered.

"A Nightmare Clanner? Is he to be trusted?" Gath asked.

"Oh yeah. Black Kirby's been... Hey, where _is_ Black Kirby?" Blade Knight wondered.

"Remember that inscription? One Sin still lives," Sword Knight.

"We have to tell Meta Knight!" they both shouted.

The Knights took off.

_**North Wing...**_

Rajiim knocked on the door in his way, and was well-received by the occupants as Lithrel opened the door.

"Ah, the fellow Dream Clanner. Rajiim, was it not?" Lithrel asked.

"Yes sir," Rajiim answered, with all the discipline of a trained soldier.

"No need for the soldier routine. You are one of us, the Generals. For now, though, I need to make a quick roundabout through the base. They will fill you in while I'm gone," Lithrel said.

"Thank you sir," Rajiim replied.

Lithrel nodded, then headed off, Rajiim headed in to find three Dream Clanners, all wearing decorated armor of varying colors.

"I am Yowtyl, that is Qwandry, and that is Cygor," said the general in yellow armor.

The other two nodded as they were pointed at. Qwandry was lean with more robes than actual armor, but all of it was gray. Cygor wore black armor, and he was incredibly buff.

"What's the situation, sir?" Rajiim asked.

"We have approximately 450 soldiers, 14 Etheri, 25 Drakes, 30 Biokin, and 1 Necrosi defect," Qwandry said.

"The Necrosi have, at best estimate, 140,000 soldiers, most of them well-versed in the Necrosi arts," Cygor added.

"We've held this fort for so long because it one to climb a hill before attacking it, allowing us to defend it easier. There have been a few sneak attacks, but relentless onslaughts from an Etheri Burst knocks them back to the Black Castle," Yowtyl said.

"Etheri Burst? Black Castle?" Rajiim asked.

"Etheri Burst is what we call it when the Etheri we have here release an explosion of the arts, causing as much elemental, light, and dark damage as possible. The only reason we've held out so long is because of the Etheri Bursts we've set off strategically around the base, forcing any advances away," Qwandry said.

"Qwandry is our Etheri leader, and he's the one who discovered the Etheri burst," Yowtyl noted.

Qwandry allowed himself a small smile of obvious pride.

"The Black Castle is the headquarters of the Necrosi. It swarms with the Corrupted Black Spirit, the one with which all Necrosi function upon. We believe that they possess some sort of crystal which fuels both the Castle and the soldiers, but we have yet to discover it. No other Dream Clanner has ever gone into that Castle and come out alive and on our side," Yowtyl said.

"Sir, Dream Clanner? You called me that and your fellow, but I am a Geo Storm Clanner, of the Storm Sect," Rajiim questioned.

"Ah, so you have not heard of the Grand Union. You see, the Storm and Geomin Sects came together as more than just sects. I was once a Storm Clanner, while Qwandry was a Geomin Clanner. Cygor was one of my fellows. However, because of the Necrosi Invasion, we have been forced to put aside our differences. With them being the Nightmares, what are we but their opposites? We are now the Dream Clanners. Remember that," Yowtyl explained.

Rajiim nodded, "There is much I can learn from you."

Yowtyl smirked for a moment, "Oh you will, Rajiim. Your training begins now."

"You will first begin with basic battle strategy, for when you're actually running and gunning," Cygor said.

"Then we'll help you with overall battle strategy, the actual strategy that the battle is supposed to run through," Qwandry added.

_**Black Castle...**_

The silhouette sat in his throne, watching the doors open. This was interesting.

"I already killed all the guards. If it'd appease you, I can bring in the corpses for you to snack on," the new figure said.

"Business before pleasure, Nightmare Clanner. Talk fast before I get too hungry."

"Fine. I'm here because of my gut instinct. I don't feel like I can serve with those Etheri. I'm here to join you."

"Why should I accept the help of a traitor?"

"Because I'm a Nightmare Clanner. We're quite well-know for serving the one with the most Darkness. Nightmare is gone, which means you are the highest bidder. It's only natural for Nightmare Clanners to flock to you."

Dark Kirby left out the important detail that Nightmare was ever-reforming, and thus would probably be reborn soon considering the explosion of Dark Energy throughout the cosmos.

"You would serve me no purpose."

"I have information on the Etheri here, along with the Drakes and the Dream Clanner."

"Hmmm... maybe you do have uses beyond a snack. I think I'll keep you. Now, if you would, fetch my dinner."

Black Kirby walked through the doors to bring in the corpses. Immediately, a different figure flew into the room. A demi-ship revved at top speed, Bloodbath zoomed to his master.

"You let him through?" Dakron Shai asked.

There was a hint of danger that the final Sin recognized. He stammered as he spoke for a few moments, before he finally got himself together.

"He's part of the Prophecy I told you about, Lord Dakron. I knew he would bring no harm to you," Bloodbath said.

The king of Necrosi laughed, sending chills down Bloodbath's spine. The connotations of the laugh registered with the Sin, and he turned to zoom off, only to find that the doors had been shut.

"Lord Dakron, what are you doing!?" Bloodbath demanded.

"You are of no use to me. You have already told me all you know, and I know that you can't fight the Star Warriors. So... with that screw-up of yours, I label you a nuisance. A tasty one, I hope."

"YOU BASTARD!"

Bloodbath's lance shone with immense power as he jetted towards Dakron Shai, who didn't move from his throne. He lazily flicked one finger up, and a spear of Darkness arose from the ground, impaling Bloodbath.

"You're stuck, painfully. You can't move, and you won't die for several hours. The Nightmare Clanner will get a demonstration of what happens to those who do not serve me properly in a few moments," Dakron Shai hissed, walking down to Bloodbath's level.

The Sin tried to protest, fight, or anything, but he was too badly hurt. He only gurgled lightly as his robotic systems shut down, leaving the organic half of him to fend for itself.

It wouldn't end well for the final, dying Sin.

_**East Wing**_

Strife sat with a young girl who was struggling to meditate.

"You must listen to your familiar. Rubia can help you, Crystine. I never would have attained my Knight status without Ber'l," Strife said, out of the corner of his mouth.

Crystine sighed, "I know, but she's so boring..."

Strife chuckled for a moment, then made a shushing noise. Crystine complied, if reluctantly.

S-C

Meta Knight sparred with an Etheri Knight, whirling in a dance of expert sword-play. They clashed again and again, never slowing, never faltering. Finally, they stopped, and bowed, or close enough to it.

"You are a good match, Gerod," Meta Knight said.

"As are you, Meta Knight, wielder of Galaxia," Gerod replied.

"Now, how is your Keryuka Style?" Meta Knight asked.

"I'm not too horrid at it. How are you?" Gerod asked.

"Let's find out," Meta Knight said.

Gerod activated his Gauntlet and they charged at one another.

S-C

Kirby sat in a far-off corner, seemingly asleep. However, he had actually achieved what some might call Nirvana. He felt everything around him. He felt the energy of Meta Knight and Gerod. He sensed the odd friendship forming beween Crystine and Strife. He felt the planet's desolation. It was a part of him, just as the despair of the Rayders' and the warmongering of the Necrosi was.

He felt the Knights running into the room, but he sensed something far more deadly. The wall crashed inwards, sending rubble everywhere. Lithrel, Meta Knight, Strife, and Kirby were the quickest to react. A whole squadron of soldiers burst through the hole, shooting everything possible.

Kirby looked within himself, at the inner peace he had achieved, and pulled out its power. He turned into what could be described as pure energy. He retained his form, barely, but he was fierce in appearance. Ethereal Kirby was ready to play.

However, what he saw appeared to shock him. Black Kirby rode in on Dark Matter, with a Nightmare Scythe in hand. Kirby reacted quickly, sending off gusts of wind mixed with flame at the approaching Necrosi.

Meta Knight tapped into the power of the eternaly full moon of Dream Star, becoming Artemis Meta Knight. His cape became the angelic wings and he flew high into the air, pointing Galaxia at the Necrosi. Artermis' Arrow shot through them, decimating their ranks.

That's when the wave of Darkness burst through, knocking everyone away. Or, at least, almost everyone. Lithrel Sunai stood his ground, a field of Light around him. Dakron Shai leapt through it, knocking Lithrel to the ground.

An explosion of energy occured as the untamed energies smashed into one another. Almost everyone who had been conscious then slipped into the darkness. Only Kirby, Lithrel, and Dakron remained awake. A field of energy surrounded the two leaders, keeping Kirby out, despite his furious lashings at it. He heard the door rumble as the soldiers tried desperately to break through it, to no avail.

The two opposing forces clashed again and again, sword to sword, then staff to staff. Finally, they were at hand to hand when the winner came forward. Lithrel made a misstep, allowing Dakron to push his claw completely through Lithrel's heart. The leader of the Rayders gasped as the pain shot through him. Kirby exploded with energy and channelled in a burst of rage, decimating the shield and sending Dakron flying.

The cannibalistic leader of the Corrupt Necrosi smirked, showing one of his fangs, red as the blood he relished so, turned, and bolted. He warped a few seconds later. He may have lost a few hundred soldiers, but the Rayders had lost their leader. They would crumple in days, if not hours.

Ethereal Kirby swarmed into Lithrel, willing life into him, desperately trying to save him.

"Futility, Kirby. I should... have died... centuries... ago. Take... my Light. The... Soul of Light... is within... me. Take it."

Ethereal Kirby tried ever more desperately to save him, if only to ignore his own pain, emotional and physical. He felt the surge of power rush through him, and he expressed shock, but remained within Lithrel.

"TAKE IT!"

Lithrel went into a coughing fit, breathed a few more ragged breaths, then died. Kirby left him, shining with the power of the Soul of Light for a moment, then returned to his normal form.

"Sorry," Black Kirby said.

Kirby nodded sadly as Black Kirby took off within the Dark Matter. The war against the Necrosi just got a whole lot tougher.

_**Center of the Rayder Base...**_

Lithrel's body slowly disintergrated in a vat of acid, along with his sword. It was a custom for Storm Clanners, now Dream Clanners, to be sent into the afterlife with their sword. It was a sign of honor for any soldier to go with the weapon that had saved their life so many times.

The soldiers marched through the area, each bowing in respect to their leader. The last to come through were the the central heroes.

"We will have to attack the Necrosi soon, or we will be put on the defensive for months on end, which will essentially wear us down to nothingness," Meta Knight said.

"I agree. However, we need one week to get acquainted with our surroundings. Kirby's got the Soul of Light. He needs time to adapt. The Generals and I have to work in a strategy without Lithrel's guidance," Rajiim replied.

"What about that vault that's under the ground?" Donokbe asked.

Rajiim glared, "How do you know of it? Yowtyl told me it was secret."

"I didn't. It guessed that there was a vault because I could hear wind blow beneath us when I listened really hard. Thanks for telling me. What's in it?" Donokbe replied.

"Ass."

"I try."

"What's in the vault?" Meta Knight demanded.

"Weapons of Lore," Rajiim admitted.

"Are you serious?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yes. Lithrel was a collector of rare items for a period of several centuries. He has the Star-Dust Ray, Golden Tunics, Cirrus Surcoats, Elemental Staves, Storm Rifles, a Seven Chrome Helmet, a pair of Ethereal Robes, and even the Dragos Star," Rajiim said.

"You're kidding. A Cirrus Surcoat?" Strife asked.

Crystine looked throughful for a moment, then asked, "He has the Lucos there, doesn't he?"

Rajiim nodded, then pulled out a white Gauntlet and handed it to Kirby.

"It was of no use to him, not being an Etheri, but it is of no use to any of the other Etheri, because they lack the Soul of Light," Rajiim said.

Kirby slipped the Gauntlet on, and it immediately reformatted to his exact arm size, shape, etc. It appeared as no more than a single white jewel embedded at the tip of his arm. Rajiim thrust a sheet of what seemed to be air onto Kirby as well, and it wrapped around him, becoming invisible as well.

"The Ethereal Robes are yours as well. Now, I must go to my training. We will end the Necrosi soon," Rajiim finished, walking away.

The heroes looked at one another, bowed one final time to the deceased leader, then left. They had a war to train for.

**TOMB**


	16. Tomb: Storm the Castle

_**Storm the Castle**_

_**Ah, this is the final chapter. I refuse to continue prolonging this story. This is the end of it all. What do you guys think?**_

_**Rayder Base, West Wing...**_

Donokbe wore a piece of armor on his head that flickered in its color scheme. He continued to wield the Rein Sword as he always had, but the Seven Chrome Helmet was a new addition. He faced down with Blade Knight, who was wearing a shining piece of armor over his normal outfit. It clasped to him, and was light as a feather, meaning it was no hindrance. The Golden Tunic was sure to serve him well.

Sword Knight stood off to the side for a moment, before declaring, "NOW!"

They dashed and clashed, swung back bodily, then swung their swords forward. Sparks showered from the attack as they ground their swords against one another, refusing to give in. The Seven Chrome Helmet extended completely over Donokbe's torso/head, increasing his power. The Golden Tunic gave off a more intense shine, indicating the same was happening to Blade Knight.

The opponents finally stopped, stepped back, then sliced forward as hard as they could, the start to a flurry of attacks and parries as the two blatantly refused to give ground.

Sword Knight's interest peaked, then began to fizzle out. He pointed at two of the warriors in the crowd watching.

"Yeah?" one asked.

"Practice round. Geshyl, call when," Sword Knight ordered.

The two soldiers prepared for the battle, as Sword Knight examined them.

"NOW!"

Sword Knight ran at the soldiers, as they prepared to defend.

_**East Wing...**_

Meta Knight and Kirby sat in one corner of the room, chanting silently, empowering themselves slowly as they achieved inner balance once more. Strife and Crystine were engaged in a practice match, using powers and their gauge gauntlets. It was a blur of silver and as the pair clashed again and again.

Crystine whirled her two gauge gauntlets with strength, as is the nature of the Goliath type gauntlets, but Strife had experience and was able to calculate the nature of the battle, with help from his Merlin brand gauntlets. Strife won with an expertly placed block, followed by a kick to the chest. Crystine sprawled out on the floor, gasping for breath.

"You're getting better, apprentice," Strife said, helping Crystine stand up.

_**North Wing...**_

Rajiim ducked a series of shots, rolled behind a large boulder, then adjusted his Storm Rifle. It became two small guns which he twirled. The Dream Clanner then peeked out and shot thirteen times in the span of a second before ducking back inside, just in time. A whole wave of bullets rained right next to the boulder. Rajiim's jaw dropped when he saw a grenade roll passed him. He activated his jets and took off at high speeds. Bullets chased him, but none hit. At that point, he was going too fast.

He leaped into the air, returning enough fire to cover himself for the time it took to land behind the next boulder. He altered the Storm Rifle again, forming it into the actual rifle-like form. It glowed with power as it charged up its power.

"What are you doing, Dream Clanner scum!?" a voice demanded.

"I'm chargin' ma lasers!" Rajiim quipped.

He leaped on top of the boulder and pulled the trigger. The gun's kick knocked him about thirty feet, skidding the entire time. However, he accomplished his goal. The central core shut down.

"Well done, soldier. That was the final test," Yowtyl said, patting Rajiim on the shoulder.

"You've beaten every simulation we've thrown at you, and you've been able to thwart an army of battle strategies against you," Qwandry noted.

"Now it's time to come up with one battle strategy. Just one, that will end the war against the Necrosi," Cygor added.

General Rajiim nodded, and they grouped together to form the grand plan.

_**East Wing...**_

Kirby stood up and opened the door a few seconds before the Generals, followed by the Knights and Donokbe, entered the room. They took no notice, as it had happened fairly regularly over the week.

"We have given you all the time we can afford. Our army is prepared, and so are we," Yowtyl announced.

"What is the plan?" Meta Knight asked.

"A group of three will have to infiltrate the base and render the army moot. Killing Dakron Shai would be but a bonus. Without his army, he will be nothing. There must be a crystal powering the army. Destroy it. We will meet the army head-on to distract Dakron," Cygor said.

The Etheri and Drakes in the room nodded, then they headed out, prepared for the battle to end the war.

_**Black Castle, Throne Room...**_

The screen flickered to life, putting Dakron in a mild light.

"What is it, general?" he demanded, irritated by the light.

"The Rayder Army is approaching. Orders?" the general asked.

Dakron smiled.

"Crush them... with extreme prejudice."

_**Black Desert...**_

Just surrounding the grand fortress was a mass of sand christened "the Black Desert" due to its affiliation with the Black Castle. Currently, it was difficult to see most of the desert, as it was mostly covered by the thousands of Necrosi soldiers.

The Rayders, lead by Meta Knight, charged forward.

They clashed hard and fast.

S-C

Meta Knight had obtained his Artemis form and was busy blasting through many and slicing through the rest. He flew high in the sky, held Galaxia high, and channeled lightning. His Ethereal abilities allowed him to take control of it. It struck again and again amongst the Necrosi.

His wings showered sparkles as he flew down, shooting arrows at the Necrosi. Meta Knight hovered high above them as he noticed the growing darkness. He looked up, and saw the massive ship, the Dragos.

"Good. All is as planned," he muttered.

Massive beams of energy shot from it, followed by Phoenix Bots, all of which had been programmed with advanced enough AI to only shoot those with Black Spirits. The tide began to change for a moment, then the Rayders felt the hand of fate choke their chances once more.

S-C

Strife and Crystine sat in the pilots' seats, while Kirby, Donokbe, and Rajiim sat in the back three seats.

"Alright. We've dropped all of our Phoenix Bots and reduced the number of Necrosi by about a fourth with our lasers. We're charging them as we speak. While they are distracted, initiate the plan," Strife ordered.

Rajiim nodded, and the three locked themselves into their seats. A moment later, a pod-like device formed around them, and Strife's Myst Cycle rolled behind them. Energy shot out from the pods, connecting them and placing Rajiim in the cockpit of the device.

Air locks dropped down around the three Star Warriors, and then the floor receded, dropping_them._ It quickly shut again, and the chamber was recalibrated before the airlocks reopened.

"Okay, they're heading towards the base. According to the scanners, the Necrosi have very little in the way of projectile weaponry, and even fewer can reach this height. The Phoenix Bots are engaged with most that are. They should be safe, but I think we need to give back-up," Crystine reported.

"No, Crystine. We must pilot the Dragos. I've already told you this. Only General Yowtyl and Cygor know how to pilot the Dragos. The Etheri are the only ones who could pilot it adeptly through the use of their Ethereal Spirit. It required two, and, being in training for the least amount of time, and thus inexperienced and weaker, we got picked for the job. I can't keep explaining this to you. Get back to the scanners. I need to know how our infiltrators are doing, and how our main groups down there are doing," Strife answered.

"Our infiltrators are almost there. There are no detectable traces of targeting upon them. The Knights and Generals are in decent condition, aside from the obvious effects of battle, namely increased heart rate and a large presence of adrenaline."

"All is well. Now, when's everything going to screw up?" Strife wondered.

_Aren't you optimistic?_

"Quiet, Ber'l."

S-C

"We're almost in the Castle, guys. This is it," Kirby said.

"Finally, I'll avenge my country and my father," Rajiim said.

"Finally, I'll get a significant amount of page time since the first arc," Donokbe muttered.

Oh, look, there goes the fourth wall.

_**Black Castle...**_

The three Star Warriors dashed through the castle as quickly as possible.

"Fork in the road, guys!" Donokbe warned.

"I see it. Rajiim, you take the left. Donokbe, you take the right. I got the center path!" Kirby ordered.

The three nodded towards each other, then shot down their selected paths.

_**Donokbe's Path...**_

Donokbe's Rainbow Helmet covered him completely, and small jets appeared in the back, boosting him forward at an incredible rate. Doors opened in the hallways ahead, according to his scanners. He slowed down and unsheathed his Rein Sword. Bolts of dark energies ripped towards him, but his sword ripped through them, unhindered by the ammo.

One of the commandoes lunged at him, actually clawing into him. Donokbe activated one of his jets with a mental impulse, spinning him around in a sudden jerking motion that sent the soldier spiraling into his comrades.

He jetted into the air, then jetted downwards in a comet-like fashion, spearing one of the soldiers. The Rainbow Clanner quickly sliced through the remainders, before heading on, leaving the Necrosi to die if they hadn't already.

_**Rajiim's Path...**_

The Dream Clanner cocked his Storm Rifle in a swift motion as he skated through the path. His scanners had told him of electrical operations suggesting that doors were about to open.

As a friend would say, release the man-eating tiger!

Several hellish beasts tore out of the caged areas. They were all four-legged, with skull-like figures (literally in some cases), and black energy pouring off of them. A barrage of lasers ended half of them. One roared in anger, and they all charged, then leaped. Rajiim calculated quickly, and increased the speed of his jets. He was behind them in a moment, leaving them confused and disoriented for a moment as they fought to get themselves out of the tangle. A spray of shots finished them.

Rajiim turned and sped off down the path, growling as he noted more doors opening.

_**Black Desert...**_

The Knights were fighting with all of their might. Meta Knight had begun to weaken, as a result of using up as much power as he had in his Artemis form. It was the reason that Blade Knight and Sword Knight had refrained from shifting into their own forms. They knew they had to stay fresh enough to protect Meta Knight, as they knew was their purpose.

Swords clashed and clanged throughout the battle. The smell of death permeated the battlefield, choking some of the more sensitive Etheri in the back. Sword Knight ducked under a swipe, then came up with his own, finishing off another Necrosi.

The Drake Knights were covered in blood and they had several wounds, but it didn't concern them. Meta Knight was their number one priority.

Blade Knight noticed a large Necrosi stomping through. He leaped at it, stabbing it in the chest, then ripping his sword up through it. Blood spurted, and the knight leaped away, landing less than gracefully. He didn't notice the Necrosi until it was too late.

Sword Knight whirled about when he heard the death cry. His internal agony and anger reached a boiling point as he saw the sword sheathed in Blade Knight's chest, slick with his blood. A moment later, it was pulled out and his partner and friend was kicked aside. The power of his Clan surged through him, and became Apollo Sword Knight.

His armor rippled with spikes, and a sun emblem appeared upon his armor. It flared with yellow and red, and flames sprung up about him. The same element was fired from his hands at the Necrosi, before he launched at them.

Blade Knight's dying moments, spent whispering his oath, offered his partner no comfort as he tore through the Necrosi with hatred and anger spurring him on to new heights.

"Protect... Meta... Knight..."

Blade Knight passed into the afterlife moments later.

_**Donokbe's Path...**_

Donokbe slammed into a force field, then was shot back. He stabilized and looked about, before a large being slammed down from the opened ceiling, before the hatch closed again. It was like Kirby, but entirely made of metal, with bits of armor, like shoulder pads and gauntlets. His armor had a lot of spikes on it. He was wielding a ball and chain.

The spiked ball was tossed at Donokbe, who ducked, then pulled out a pill chocked with the best possible combination for a copy ability in this situation. He swallowed it, and didn't seem to change. After a moment, it was apparent when he sent several bolts of light slamming into the Moon Knight.

He was Lucomancer Donokbe.

Moon Knight slung the mace at Donokbe, who ducked under it and slung light at the chain. It snapped into, then disintegrated into raw energy, which shot back into Moon Knight, who formed an array of throwing stars. He became a whirling object of motion, tossing the stars as quickly as possible. Donokbe shifted into light, allowing them to pass through him, though he reformed exhausted.

The Moon Knight took advantage of this with a spear that pierced Donokbe's foot. He swung from it and kicked Donokbe in the face, sending him reeling backwards. The lance sliced straight through his foot, causing Donokbe to cry out in the terrible pain caused by the weapon. Light spiraled from his fingers at his command, slamming Moon Knight back through the hall.

Donokbe, holding back tears and curses with one forceful will, formed armor that melded around the damaged foot. It would continue to hurt, but at least he could sort of walk on it. He didn't dare do it earlier, as it would have reduced mobility, but it didn't matter now.

He held the Rein Sword before him, then focused on the light directly hitting him. A second later, it all bent in different directions, rendering him invisible. Through a different manipulation of light, he allowed himself to still see.

The Moon Knight, sensing that his opponent was still around, formed a sword of his own and began spinning about in place, slicing through all the air around him in such a random pattern that one could not hope to actually touch the warrior. But then, Donokbe didn't expect to.

The Rein Sword, still invisible, clanged with the weapon, sending a recoil into the Moon Knight. The opening was wide enough for the Rainbow Clanner to shove the Rein Sword straight into his opponent's chest.

"Die."

With a gurgle, his opponent complied. Donokbe whirled around and jetted off in the necessary direction. He still had a path to explore, and he hoped it didn't end with Dakron Shai.

_**Rajiim's Path...**_

Rajiim skated through his path, looking everywhere, then stopped on a dime. The Storm Rifle was split in two, spun on his fingers, then aimed at the ceiling. It opened for a second, before several shots of cover fire tore through it, forcing Rajiim to skate back, allowing the Sun Sniper to drop down, spraying shots to further dissuade any return fire.

Rajiim skated quickly to the side and shot off a quick series of lasers, but found his target had disappeared.

"What the...?"

A blast seared his back, he whirled around to find no one. Rajiim groaned: the Sun Sniper was a teleporter.

His helmet activated once more, detecting energy in all directions. Quickly, he pinpointed where the Sun Sniper was. A flash of a strange energy erupted elsewhere, and the bolt of energy coming from it knocked Rajiim to the floor.

Rajiim rolled away from several shots fired off from the Sun Sniper, then leaped to his feet, getting in several shots, all of them connecting. Sparks flew from the suit and his enemy cursed.

"My teleporter!"

Rajiim skated towards the Sun Sniper, charging up the Storm Rifle. He leaped and cracked off a series of shots that pierced his torso in multiple places. Another quick charge and release sent a final bolt careening into and out of the Sun Sniper's head, ending him.

Rajiim landed, cat-like, before replacing the Storm Rifle in its original form and the holster. He turned away from his entry point, and continued blading through the hallway.

_**Black Desert...**_

Apollo Sword Knight, shining gold with the power of the sun, and Artemis Meta Knight, glowing silver with the power of the moon, were fighting their hardest through the army of Necrosi. They knew they had slain somewhere in the hundreds range, and it was starting to catch up. They continued to fight, regardless.

They sent swaths of energy everywhere, yet ten more Necrosi replaced those who fell. A moment later, Meta Knight felt something against his back. He turned around and his fear was confirmed. They were stuck between an army and a cliff that went straight up.

"We're cornered, Sword Knight!" Meta Knight growled.

Sword Knight roared as he sent another blast of solar energy through the Necrosi.

"Then we will die if we stay here?" Sword Knight shouted.

"Indeed."

"And to charge through would allow one of us to potentially live?"

"...What?"

"We need room to maneuver, otherwise we're dead, right!?"

"Right."

Meta Knight saw Sword Knight remove his helmet after a moment, still slicing through Necrosi.

"I WILL FULFILL MY OATH! I WILL PROTECT META KNIGHT!"

With that, he became pure solar energy that obliterated a number of Necrosi, allowing Meta Knight to charge back into the fray. A moment later, he saw Apollo Sword Knight lying sprawled out on the ground, his eyes lit up with triumph, unmoving. There was a sword sheathed in his chest.

Sorrow spread through Meta Knight like a poison. Another dead.

_Because of me..._

Anger flowered anew.

_Because of the Necrosi..._

He became an unstoppable force to be reckoned with as he tore through the Necrosi. There may have been only a handful of Rayders left. There were still several hundred Necrosi.

Damn the odds and damn the gods.

He would tempt fate.

For Blade Knight.

For Sword Knight.

For glory.

_**Donokbe's Path, Final Chamber... **_

Blue and silver light filled the room Donokbe ran into, stopping after a moment. Strange energy pulsed through it. He looked up and saw the giant crystal. It was an orb the color of the lights shone. Black energy flitted through it.

"What is that...?" Donokbe wondered aloud.

His helmet scanned it, and after a moment, he gasped aloud.

It was the Necrotix Moon, the source of the power for those with Corrupted Black Spirits. Donokbe's eyes narrowed at it from behind his visor. He glanced at the Rein Sword in his hand. The jets activated.

He launched himself at it with incredible speed, his sword held out before him. It was interesting, the sword. It was pure white, even the actual blade. Yet there was the crystal that contained energy as black as night. Heh. His father, the craftsman of the blade, was big on irony.

SHINK.

Donokbe's sudden stop as he met the crystal was expected, yet he still hit the hilt of his sword hard. The Necrotix Moon's energy flitted about, desperately. It knew the end was near.

"ABOMINATION! KNOW MY NAME! I AM DONOKBE, REMNANT OF THE RAINBOW CLANNERS! I AM A WARRIOR! I AM AN AVENGER! I... CONDEMN YOU TO OBLIVION!"

The energy shot about through the room, and a strange harmonics erupted through it, reaching a pitch unheard of. An explosion erupted from it, and the room was filled with the destructive nature of the strange energy.

_**Rajiim's Path, Final Chamber...**_

Rajiim stopped slowly as he reached the chamber. His helmet had already scanned ahead. He knew what it was. The red and gold light, corrupted with an occasional black flitter, was unnecessary to him. The Necrotix Sun had been identified long beforehand. The Dream Clanner knew what to do.

"For Oaken, my father. For Orren, my mother. For Dream Clanners everywhere," he whispered.

The Storm Rifle pulsed with a rainbow of dark energies.

"I am a Dream Clanner. I am an avenger."

The Storm Rifle let the energy fly through the air. It collided with the Necrotix Sun. The energies combined, reacting violently. Another burst was let loose, and Rajiim stared at his demise with a courageous heart as the explosion rushed towards him.

"I am... oblivion."

_**Dragos...**_

"Crystine, what's happening?" Strife asked.

"The report says that there is no longer a presence of Black Spirits within the Necrosi. There seems to be a void within them, somehow. The Rayders are almost wiped out, and the Knights are too."

"Within the Black Castle?"

"..."

"Damn it, Crystine!"

"Donokbe and Rajiim are dead."

"What?"

"Their life monitors were shut off completely. The monitors were embedded in them. They couldn't have just taken them out. Donokbe and Rajiim are dead. However, there were spikes of energy a split-second before they died."

"They must have destroyed the source of the Corruption."

"They apparently also destroyed the source of the Black Castle. It's beginning to fade."

"Excuse me?" Strife asked, incredulously.

"Within an hour's time, the Black Castle will be completely gone from the face of Dream Star."

"Damn it, Kirby, get out of there," Strife whispered.

_**Kirby's Path, Final Rest...**_

A wave of pain erupted within Kirby. He stopped right before the large doors, emanating with Darkness. He huffed, trying to catch his breath, as he tried to figure out what it was he felt. The Ethereal Plane told him of something.

_Sword Knight._

_Blade Knight._

_Donokbe._

_Rajiim._

_Dead._

"No..."

_'I am sorry' _Menai whispered.

Kirby nodded, in a visible response to what his Ethereal conscience said.

He gathered up his courage, channeled his energy into the pendant on his arm, pointed it at the door, and let the strange, celestial energy of the Star Dust Ray tear through it, before entering the throne room.

_**Necrotix Throne Room...**_

"Dramatic, aren't we?" Dakron Shai hissed.

"Murderer. I won't let you live through the day, Dakron!" Kirby shouted.

"Oh, please. The Light Spirit faded with my brother, good old Lithrel Sunai. I can't be killed without it," Dakron laughed.

Black Kirby stepped forward, looking at Kirby, examining him. The mental connection opened up for a second, then was sealed off again by the Nightmare Clanner.

"Are you with us?" he asked.

Kirby shook his head. Black Kirby nodded, conceding. He had gone along with Dakron long enough. It was time to pay for his crimes, right the wrongs, and do some damage. Kirby would finish the job. He always did.

Black Kirby whirled around, sword in hand, and stabbed Dakron's torso plate. He dug it in for a moment, and blood dribbled out. Dakron's eyes narrowed, and a claw of Darkness cleaved through Black Kirby, sending him into a wall. All was as it should be.

Kirby's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed again. His anger and sorrow built up as he darted towards Dakron Shai. Spikes of Darkness shot up through the ground, but the Ethereal Master dodged them all with ease. He smacked square into Dakron's chest, focused, and released a burst of Light that sent Dakron spiraling backwards, into a wall.

"Oh... so _you_ have the Light Spirit now. How lovely," Dakron muttered, dangerously.

Before Kirby could blink, Dakron smashed him across the face, sending him rolling back. A gust of wind stopped him, then set him upright. He sucked in air, then released fire that tore through the Darkness. Dakron chuckled darkly, and a shield of his mastered element directed the blaze in a different direction. It threw the room into a better relief, and Kirby grew sick for a moment.

Blood covered almost every inch of the surface, and bones were scattered throughout the room. He saw a piece of what he knew was Bloodbath. Kirby steadied himself as Dakron disappeared.

_Huh?_

WHAM.

Dakron pistoned out a fist, having warped through the shadows, and slammed Kirby against the wall with the force of the blow.

SLICE.

Dakron's claws scraped across Kirby's face, as the puffball cried out in pain. A green liquid dripped off the claw as it came away.

"Poison of my own invention. Let's see if the Soul of Light can purify _that_," Dakron hissed.

Kirby found himself drifting, gently, into the inky blackness of oblivion...

* * *

Kirby looked around at the light surrounding him. 

"Am I... dead?" Kirby wondered aloud.

"No. You're being given a choice," someone said.

The girl leaped down from the rocks she had been sitting on.

"Who are you?" Kirby asked.

"Name's Xana. I've been helping you out... sort of."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing of importance. Now, for that choice..."

Xana's hand was placed to the cliff, and she stared at it for a few moments.

"Life or death? Choose."

"Life."

"Are you so sure?"

"Yes."

"You do realize that, with all the power you have, you are susceptible to temptation. Dakron Shai will die within the century. He will destroy several more planets, but the universe will heal. However, should you become corrupt, the consequences could be dire."

"What?"

The ground around Xana's hand became a screen that showed images of Kirby wiping out planets of people, unassisted and unopposed. Burning. Death. Destruction. Nothing was spared in the rampages. The universe became oblivion, never to heal.

"That is only an if, but it is possible. Why do you want to return to life?"

"I can't let Dakron continue for another moment, if I can help it. Another century is out of the question. Besides... I can never just give up."

Xana smiled.

"Good answer... By the way, I managed to pull a few strings. There are some friends who want to help you out. After Dakron Shai is gone, though... well, they will go with him. Sorry."

Kirby nodded as he felt several presences converging upon him in a familiar sensation.

"We are..."

* * *

"The Tri-Knight!"

Light knocked Dakron Shai, and then he growled with fury as he saw his opponent standing before him. The Tri-Knight was back for one final battle.

Dakron formed a sword and shield of his own, with which he attacked the Tri-Knight. Their swords clanged repeatedly. The hatred of Dakron Shai built up as the rage within the Tri Knight did likewise, fueling them both. They spun around and put all of their respective energies into the sword-swipe.

KRA-KOOOOOOOOM!

They crashed into the walls behind them, their weapons completely gone. A moment later, they rushed at each other again, to battle with fisticuffs. Tri-Knight ducked a blow, then came up with an uppercut that sent Dakron into the air. He reared back with a claw, summoned energy, and sent Dark energy whistling towards his opponent. The Tri-Knight snorted at the attack. A shield of light appeared around him, annhilating the attack completely.

"You will do no more harm."

The Tri-Knight used the remaining energy of the shield as a blast that tore off Dakron's left arm. He screeched with pain, hatred, and rage. He mutated into his true form, the epitome of corruption. After all, one cannot have the Soul of Darkness without being truly evil, and thus corrupt in body, mind, and soul.

"You will kill no more people."

The monster was rippling with spikes and muscle, and was clearly Draconic in nature. It roared at the Tri-Knight, who seemed unaffected by the merciless gaze it pierced the air with.

"You will cause no more suffering."

The Tri-Knight shot through the air, clashed with the beast's claws for a moment, then tossed him back a few feet, causing the monster to hesitate before attacking again. The Tri-Knight leaped through the air and onto the beast's back. The images of Kirby, Donokbe, and Black Kirby appeared for a brief moment around him as he held a fist up high. Light shone from it, and a new sword of Light formed.

"You will not live another moment."

The sword came down and pierced through Dakron Shai's neck, prompting a scream from the monstrosity that ended in a pitiful moan. The Tri-Knight disappeared in a flash of Light, warping outside the Black Castle.

_**Black Desert...**_

Kirby dropped down in the middle of the Black Desert, which was covered in the carnage of the battle. A weary Meta Knight rushed by, as Strife and Crystine dashed towards a small group of Necrosi. Having decided that enough casualties had been had, they finally locked the Dragos in place and warped down to the battle.

"DAKRON SHAI IS DEAD!" Kirby shouted at the top of his lungs.

A wild cheer went out through the Rayders, and the remaining Necrosi were quickly and mercilessly executed.

_**Rayder Base...**_

A few hours later, Kirby, Meta Knight, Strife, and Crystine sat a small table, with a few drinks on it.

"What do we do now?" Crystine asked.

Strife huffed at the impatience of his student.

"We'll send out a signal to all Etheri. They don't have to hide anymore. There will be an academy opening on Popstar soon," Meta Knight said.

Strife looked at Kirby quizzically. The Ethereal Master was gazing off into space at the moment.

_Sword Knight._

_Blade Knight._

_Rajiim._

_Donokbe._

_Black Kirby._

_Lithrel._

_Rayders._

_Your sacrifices were not in vain... We won._

_We fought our inner evils in a corporeal form. We fought Sins._

_We faced off with a cult of evil._

_We went head to head with an army of Darkness and faced the Abyss. It couldn't stare back._

_We won._

_And now..._

"We're going home," Kirby said aloud.

**The End**


End file.
